The Legacy of Hyrule
by JoeMo2000
Summary: When the Hero of Time goes missing, the Sages embark on a quest to find him, led by a mysterious man. But as the mission draws on longer, it becomes evident that this man is more than he appears. Slowly, a destiny far greater than that of Link unfolds.
1. The Tale of the Mother

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000

Chapter 1: The Tale of the Mother

The thunder raged just beyond the trees, but it was just a storm, nothing to be afraid of. They lived in the Forest, using the crude wooden houses only to have a "home". Rain was natural, it was fresh, and it was necessary. That was not what startled them.

A strong burst of wind, and the storm blew over the Forest itself. The children danced in the rain, unafraid. Lighting crashed overhead, but again, it was to be expected. That was not what startled them, either. The Kokiri were accustomed to the ways of the Sky and the Earth and the Forest.

No, it was the giant being that appeared in the forest that was frightening.

Nadu was nearest when it happened, and she fled for cover. The long-abandoned, absurdly overgrown path out to the mysterious lands only known as "Hyrule" had been breached. The rotting hollow tree had once again been put to use, and through it climbed what the small Kokiri could only describe as a huge female with a child. But as the Children of the Forest, hiding in their houses, peeked at the being, they became increasingly aware of her bruises, and that if she were here to attack, she wouldn't last long at all. "Overexertion", they believed it was called.

"Big sis?" came a voice, and Nadu turned around. "Is big woman here to hurt us?" Her little sister was only three, but knew the tongue as well as anybody.

As Nadu turned back to look at the mysterious woman, she decided to find out for herself. "Wait here, Sary", she said.

She bravely put her hand on the doorknob and turned it, and, with a display of fearlessness that she knew she didn't have, she leaped off the platform and approached the lady.

"Who-who are you?" she asked in a voice she hoped didn't convey her fear. "Who are you?" she said again.

The woman smiled weakly, but didn't respond.

Picking up a long stick and wielding it like a sword, she demanded, in a higher pitched tone than she would have liked, "Answer the question!"

"**ENOUGH**," came a booming voice, and Nadu instantly dropped the stick and looked up. "**NADU, THY BRAVERY IS NOTED, BUT THIS IS NOT THE TIME**."

"But, Gre--"

"**I UNDERSTAND THY CONCERN. HOWEVER, I CAN SENSE THAT THIS WOMAN AND HER CHILD POSE NO THREAT; QUITE THE CONTRARY. I CAN SENSE GREAT POTENTIAL**."

"I understand, Great Deku Tree," Nadu said respectfully.

Slowly, more of the Kokiri approached the woman, until she was completely surrounded.

As the oldest of the Kokiri at the wonderfully young age of 25, Nadu was the de-facto leader. In an effort to uphold the Deku Tree's belief that the woman was important, she said, "Come on, everyone, let's get her bandaged up!"

Many hours later, the clouds finally parted, and the sun once again shone upon the Kokiri Forest. It had been a long night, and the Kokiri were tired from their efforts. Yet, despite their greatest doctors and the potions, they were unable to heal her wounds, now believed to have been caused by magic. Slowly, she was slipping away, and her child cried.

Knowing that there was little time before she expired completely, the Great Deku tree requested a meeting. "**BRING HER TO ME, NADU. THERE IS NOT MUCH TIME LEFT, AND I WISH TO SPEAK WITH HER. ALONE**."

Curious, but resigning to the will of their Guardian Spirit, she complied, and she and a few others carefully carried the stirring woman to the tree, bowed, and respectfully left.

Nobody knows what was said, save the tree and the woman, but after ten minutes of waiting, the Kokiri were summoned back, and the Deku Tree spoke.

"**SHE HAS SPOKEN, AND I HAVE DECIDED. YE SHALL RAISE THE BOY AS ONE OF OUR OWN. THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT HIM. HE SHALL SERVE A PURPOSE ONE DAY, BUT UNTIL THEN, HE SHALL BE SHELTERED AND RAISED AS KOKIRI, AND HIS NAME SHALL BE LINK**."

* * *

Like the Great Deku Tree, he sensed it, the unmistakable call of destiny; a higher purpose. He knew that there was a reason these two were successful in their attempt to hide in the Forest, but he knew not what it was. The Civil War was almost over; he knew that the Goddesses would aid him there. His plan was already in motion, and he knew that he could trust them again. But he could tell that they had also delivered the two here safely so that something else, something far worse, could be stopped.

Both he and the Deku Tree knew that their arrivals would change the world, but he feared something the Great Deku Tree could not possibly know about, and it troubled him greatly.

Kazimir knew about Hyrule.


	2. The Appearance of the Stranger

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000

Chapter 2: The Appearance of the Stranger

Twenty Years Later…

Once again, she was back there, back atop Death Mountain with her fellow Sages. Once again, they were watching the first untainted sunrise in seven long years.

Once again, she felt the stab of loneliness as she felt the Hero of Time transported home by the magic of the Sage of Time.

It was a bittersweet dream. Saria remembered with perfect clarity everything, every little detail, of the scene, and it was haunting her. Three empty years had passed since that day, and she had spent every one of them waiting for his return.

Inside, Saria knew that her waiting was in vain; the doors to the Temple of Time had long since been locked, and Link, though valiant as he was, still had Hylian blood running through his veins. He was mortal, and had no control over anything in the Sacred Realm.

But she also knew that she could not give up hope, because giving up hope would mean accepting that the boy she fell in love with, and who she believed felt the same way about her, wouldn't return to her. It would mean that the man who overcame Ganondorf himself would be defeated by what amounted to a pair of magical doors.

Saria groaned at herself and got up. _Another morning, another day as the precious Forest Sage_, she thought to herself. Despite the "luxuries" of the Sacred Realm, she still felt a longing for the place she had for so long called home.

But there was something different about today. Yes, today was exactly three years after she had last seen him, but she knew that wasn't it. There was something else, a presence she felt was not supposed to be there, but she couldn't figure out what it was, as the Sacred Realm could only have the Sages. Nothing else could enter, and no one, certainly, could leave. But no matter; she would not let it detract from her routinely dull morning, afternoon, and evening.

Every day was the same; the Sages would watch over their respective parts of Hyrule, influencing, but unable to directly intervene, the many regions and their inhabitants. It was a boring job, but they all knew it was important, and everybody was secretly doing their own thing during the largely uneventful time.

This was the way it was, this was the way it always had been. For almost as long as she could remember, she had been fascinated by the Lost Woods and its intricate maze. It sat there, at the edge of the Forest taunting her and her fellow Kokiri, who were plagued with curiosity. But it wasn't until – _No_, Saria thought to herself. _I've put it behind me; I shouldn't be worrying about that now._

Saria shook her head. She told herself that what she was doing was a selfless act of protection and discovery, but deep inside, Saria knew she was doing it for herself, and she hated it. For eight years it fascinated her, comforted her, and protected her. But then came the Darkness, the pain and suffering of all of Hyrule, and her haven was desecrated. She was forced into hiding, unable to help her friends, and then she was captured.

And so she stayed for seven years, waiting for an end to the terrible curse that had befallen her home and her life. Slowly, hope drained and was replaced with despair – terrifying despair that rescue would not come, furious despair that, had she not wasted her time in the past she would have been able to prevent the present, and saddening despair that her time in Hyrule was drawing to a close.

Then Link came back. The moment he returned she could feel it, as though something she had long ago locked away had finally reawakened. She felt a twinge of emotion she had long since forgotten had existed: love. It was faint, but it grew stronger with each passing hour. Finally, she would be reunited with the boy she grew up with. But things went wrong again, and Saria emerged as the Forest Sage, and once again she was removed from her friends. She was removed once again from the reach of Link.

The worst part was that there was nothing she could do.

"Okay, Fado, time to continue your map..." Saria said to herself as she picked up her enchanted orb. Her emerald crystal shone in Rauru's fake sunlight, but it was the light from the Forest that she longed for. Resignedly, she sighed and sat down, focusing intently on her friend. The feelings came slowly at first, but familiarity quickly sunk in, and soon she was filled with memories of her childhood friend, felt the presence of her company, saw her large, curious eyes, and heard the way she always used to tap her fingers to that same rhythm – and suddenly she was there, guiding her. It wasn't possession; it was more of a nudge, a thought in the back of Fado's mind that begged to be acted upon.

There was that feeling again; that something was wrong, out of place, and Saria lost her train of thought, her connection with Fado broken. She felt a presence, a _strong_ presence, one she hadn't felt in quite some time -- far longer than since she last sensed Link. This one seemed...ancient.

All in all, it came as quite a surprise when she turned around and there was a complete stranger standing behind her.


	3. The Secret of the Pendant

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000

Chapter 3: The Secret of the Pendant

Sleep.

That was the one thing that seemed the most pointless to Impa, sleep. The Sheikah were there to protect, to watch over Hyrule, not to rest while evil ran its course. And yet, special though they were, the Sheikah were also Hylian; they were mortal, and they were fragile. Sleep was an integral part of the cycle, the link that brought the end full-circle to the beginning.

Begrudgingly, she let her mind drift into an uneasy sleep.

If sleep itself was unnecessary, then surely dreams were doubly so. Every night for the past three years, it was the same thing, flashes of red and green, but nothing ever made sense. Her dreams rarely did, and today's were no different. Their level of sense remained firmly at zero, but their urgency seemed to increase with each passing night.

But when Impa awoke, she knew something was different; she knew something was off. The pendant was singing again.

_Impa awoke abruptly to a strange music. It wasn't a melody of the legendary Ocarina; it was more of an ethereal tune, played by a distant, unfamiliar instrument. And yet she recognized it somehow. It was as if a whole orchestra was playing a long-forgotten sonata just for her, taunting her._

"_Impa!" shouted a nearby deep voice, and the song was lost, scattered into the wind by the daily scrambling of the war. She strained her ears, hoping to catch the mysterious melody again, but the ruckus outside was too distracting._

"_IMPA!" Once again, the voice called her, and she leapt out of bed. Today was an important day, and she knew it. Impa hastily threw on her Sheikah armament and only had a moment to register that her pendant was slightly warmer than anything else was._

"IMP—_ there you are, woman! Din's fire, what have you been doing?"_

_Impa kneeled before King Daphnes, King of the Hylian race. _

"_I give you my apologies, Your Majesty. It won't happen again."_

"_You're right it won't, Impa! I need you here! _Here!_ Protecting us!"_

"_I understand, Your Majesty."_

"_Now, Impa", Daphnes said, in a much softer tone than before, "I have given you and your people a chance to prove your loyalty to the Royal Family. The height of our war is upon us, and on the other side lays a new, prosperous beginning for Hyrule – an age of peace. You _cannot_ let the Gerudo block our path to victory. You _cannot_ let our defences fall._

"_You are being given a task of the utmost importance – the protection of the Royal Family and the birth of its heir. Now go!"_

"_I thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty, and I understand," Impa said, bowing her head and hurrying outside._

_The storm of the previous night had passed to the southeast, and puddles riddled the roads._

"_Good morning, sleepy-head," came a familiar voice, and Impa smiled. "You got enough rest?" Yrma chuckled, and the two girls hurried to the drawbridge which protected Hyrule City. Together, they would continue to protect their fellow soldiers, aiding their side in the war at whatever cost._

_They passed by many of their friends, and the pair began to wonder. Would they find Riaku, the brave, but foolish hero? Would Gabrielle, the wife of the dying Knight Xaviel, and their infantile son ever reach safety? Would the mysterious Lanayru succeed in what was probably a suicidal attempt at stemming the flow of battle? They may never know the answers. Silently, they ran onwards._

_As the two Sheikah cast their defensive enchantments, Impa heard it again; the mysterious music and she faltered – and so did Yrma. The sweet tune filled the air and all else faded away, save the pair. A distant memory of a long-forgotten land of prosperity filled their minds and gave them courage, gave them wisdom, and gave them power. Impa felt warmth growing on her chest, and touched the pendant, and instantly knew that it was the source of the music._

_As abruptly as it began, the sound stopped short, and the notes were lost in their minds. The drawbridge across the moat had been lowered and the soldiers, weary from the battle, returned home. But there was one amongst them who did not enter._

_A man covered in a dark cloak stood still, gazing within the city, directly at the castle. Impa crouched defensively, but Yrma stood still, staring back at him. Slowly, the man crossed the bridge and Impa stopped him._

"_Halt. Identify yourself."_

"_So she has arrived," the man said, sight still fixed firmly on the castle. There was something odd about his voice, but Impa couldn't place it._

"_What? Who has arrived? What are you talking about?"_

_The man looked at Impa and it frightened her. She took a step back, but the man merely said, "So she is born – the Lady of Destiny. And Hyrule will never be the same again."_

_Without another word, he turned around and vanished._

_Even stranger still was that that was the day that the War ended._

Despite her years as Zelda's protector, and despite her unrestricted access to the Hylian Library, and despite all the stories she had been told, the pendant had always remained a mystery to Impa. The diaries of the Sheikah often mentioned the item as an heirloom, passed to the firstborn of the owner, but having no particular purpose on its own. Nobody knew its origins, either.

Neither were there records of the song. She had checked every book of melodies ever written, but none matched. Eventually, she wrote it off as her imagination.

But there it was, clear as ever, the symphonic sound that escaped her, that danced in her mind, daring to be captured. Impa let it soak in.

Minutes passed, and the song continued. Curiosity getting the better of her, and having dressed for the day, she reached out and touched it.

Impa was instantly filled with a sense of urgency unlike any she had ever before felt. There was danger, and it worried her. Something was inside the Sacred Realm. Some_one_ was inside, and it was _wrong_, and she had to act. She pulled her hand away, causing the pendant to fall, and to crack sharply. The music stopped.

"Din's fire, I don't have time for this!" she said angrily. She picked it up, and noticed, sticking out of one of the cracks, was a leaf of parchment, yellowed with age. The crisis momentarily forgotten, she slowly slipped the page from the pendant, careful not to rip it. It was remarkable that it had survived as long as the pendant had, and even more so that it had gone unnoticed for as long. The unfolded image was a disappointment, however.

She was mistaken. It hadn't survived. Age had taken its toll on the sheaf, and the image that had once been discernable had all but faded away. Only a light silhouette remained of the image. Impa turned it over, and was startled to see, written in Ancient Hylian, a sentence that was remarkably still clear as day.

It said, "To Hyrule: Good Luck."

She put it down on her table and entered the portal taking her to the Sacred Chamber. Someone was in danger. Impa intended to find out whom.


	4. The Beast of the Sages

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000

Chapter Four: The Beast of the Sages

The man bowed his head and kneeled respectfully.

"Miss Saria, I presume?" he asked in a deep, almost distant voice.

Saria stared in shock. Here was a stranger, an _outsider_, in the Sacred Realm. It shouldn't have been possible. And yet here he was, kneeling before her, as though this were a daily ritual of his.

"Who…who are you?" she managed, trembling. The man was easily twice both her height and build, and most of his body was covered by his tattered brown cloak. His seemingly ancient sword he kept in its scabbard, on which was written in a long-forgotten language, only increased his intimidation. There was something strange about this man. He had every physical indication that this was a man with whom you did not trifle. The stranger quickly glanced at her, before bowing his head again.

"Yes, it must be," he added, more to himself than to Saria. "Only a Kokiri would have such a young appearance after ten years. Miss Saria," he said slowly, this time to the Sage, "I have an urgent matter which needs your attention."

Despite this man's physical strength, he did not show any indications or intentions of harming Saria, but she remained firmly terrified.

"I asked who you are!" she said, a little stronger than before. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I am but a weary traveller, but I am here to ask for your help in a matter of dire importance. A disaster is approaching, the likes of which we have never before seen." The man paused, letting the full effect of his words sink in before he continued. "And when it does, it will put to the test all that we have striven to build."

Saria looked at the man in awe. His strange, angelic-like voice seemed to echo inside of her. Slowly, her fear left, to be replaced by a dawning sense of unease at the man's announcement. What disaster was coming? What could be done to stop it? And, more importantly, how did this…_impossible_ man know about it?

She decided to voice her questions. "What's coming?" she asked tentatively.

The man looked directly at Saria for the first time, and she was taken aback by the appearance of his face. Despite his clearly old, ripped, and worn clothing, his features had the youth of an adolescent–sharp, with trimmed hair, and clean-shaven–but lacked its liveliness; Instead, his vermillion eyes seemed exhausted, as though they had once shown the world to an excited boy, but had long since forgotten what such an experience felt like. When he spoke again, it awed her that such a man could have such a deep, resounding voice.

"Tell me, Miss Saria, what do you remember of ten years ago? What single memory stands out at you the most?"

Saria shook herself out of her trance, thought for a moment, and answered. "Umm, ten years ago? That would have to be when Link–," she faltered, remembering with more clarity–and pain–than any time since she awoke as the Forest Sage, but she forced herself to continue, "–when Link left the…the Forest…" She ended almost in a whisper, as now it was as thought she was being forced to remember happier times, when Hyrule was safe, and, more importantly, when she was with her friends. The man noticed her eyes watering, and he respectfully lowered his head while Saria wiped them. "I remember meeting him on the bridge between the Forest and the Unknown Lands – I mean Hyrule. I…I gave him my ocarina."

"And do you remember why he left?"

"I think he said something about wanting to explore Hyrule." She thought again, and it occurred to her that she had never asked why he had left. She had only ever vaguely linked his leaving with Ganondorf's rise to power, but it seemed obvious now. "And I guess to stop Ganondorf."

The stranger took a deep breath, looked up, and began speaking again. "Yes and no. Ten years ago, Link was warned of the impending danger that Ganondorf posed, presumably by the Great Deku Tree. It was he who gave to Link a sacred and powerful relic entrusted to him centuries ago, according to the legends, the Spiritual Stone of the Forest – the Kokiri Emerald. He then spent the following weeks scouring the land for the remaining two Spiritual Stones, during which time, I'm sure he must have thought of home often. In fact, he even returned to visit you, did he not?"

"How do you – how do you know that?" Saria asked uncomfortably. "That was personal!" But, as she reacted, she couldn't help but feel something stirring inside of her. Looking at him talk, listening to him, she could sense there was a force within him that was gaining strength – or was he _re_gaining it?

"I apologize for intruding, Miss Saria, but I cannot let matters of such importance go unchecked. I do hope you forgive me." His tone was apologetic, unthreatening; but her suspicions began to grow. The man continued.

"Link fought against demons that would have made men thrice his age cower in fear, and he defeated them. His courage as a young boy, only ten years of age, was astounding. Though, courageous as he was, he was only a boy, not yet ready for the full burden of being the Hero of Time he would become. Bravely, he collected the Spiritual Stones and opened the Door of Time. After weeks of struggling, and the flight of Princess Zelda, he pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal, and was put into an enchanted sleep of seven years. That is why he did not return for so long." The stranger's excitement rose, and as his speech drew on, the sense of urgency in his voice increased with it.

"Memories are precious things. They serve as reminds to one's history, one's loyalties…one's friendships. A single positive memory can make a person do wondrous things. Imagine what a lifetime of them can do.

"That is what Link had as he awoke after his long slumber – a lifetime of memories of friendship, given to him by his friends – the Kokiri – and by you. The Hero of Time, with his heart full of love and kindness, set out to rescue this land. But the first thing he did, the _first_ place he went, was home to the Kokiri Forest, to visit you, because you, Miss Saria, are the most important person to Link."

Saria's heart leapt at his words. Could Link really have felt that way? But if he had, then where was he? Why hasn't he returned to the Forest? She glanced at her emerald orb, with its enchanted glow, and then at her "garden," and her doubt grew again. This was a nice story and all, but what was the point? And who _was_ he, anyway?

"You doubt me," he noted, reverting to his slow, deliberate tone. "I can see your hesitation. You would like to believe, but there is something stopping you, something holding you back."

"You still haven't told me anything about you," Saria snapped defensively. The man had been there for no more than fifteen minutes, and he had already triggered emotions that Saria had not felt in over a decade. This one was agitation. "What's your name? How do you know all of this? And by Farore's Wind,_** how did you get here**_?"

This sudden outburst caught him off guard. For the first time, the stranger looked uneasy, and he paused. He shook his head slowly, and replied, "The answers to any of your questions would simply confuse you further, and that is if you believe any of them to begin with, which I doubt. Trust me."

Again, long-tamed emotions freed themselves from deep within her, and she felt angry for the first time in almost two years. Having the appearance of a kid was one thing, but being treated like one at her age, regardless of how she looked, was insulting. "Try me," she dared, narrowing her eyes.

As if on cue, the plants and plotted shrubbery around them seemed to threaten him with her. For the second time, the man appeared uncomfortable, as though he knew what was about to happen.

"You don't have to go _that_ far," he said after a moment, with what sounded like a trace of panic in his voice.

But Saria didn't hear him. Bottled up anger and fear were fighting their way out; anger at Link, for abandoning her; anger at Ruto for taunting her; anger at Impa for treating her like a child; fear that she would be alone forever. Most of all, she felt anger at this man; a deep-seated hatred of him and what he represented. She couldn't place it, but it was there, and she succumbed to its will.

"You will answer my questions!" she screamed, and at once, the vines, which had slowly been snaking towards her, launched at the man and grabbed him.


	5. The Tip of the Iceberg

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000

Chapter Five: The Tip of the Iceberg

Yet again, the faux sun crept up through the faux window in their faux paradise. The faux birds chirped, the faux lake glistened, and the faux grass swayed in the faux breeze. But Ruto awoke with genuine irritation.

She was not a morning lady; princesses rarely were. Ruto grunted. Back when she _was_ a princess, that is. Here, she was treated with no respect. She sighed.

Time for morning rituals: brushing her teeth; morning bath; breakfast of...salads, again? Ugh. Surely, Zoras routinely died eating such things so often.

"What will I wear today?" Ruto wondered aloud. Of course, her closet proved to be a disappointment. For three whole years, she's had the same dozen outfits, all of which were practically identical. What she _really_ wanted was to go shopping.

Next, it was time for grooming: folding her fins; polishing her scales…and that was it. She had tried wearing a wig for a day once, so that she could groom that, as well. _I'll never try _that_ again in a hurry…_

Fourth comes laundry: refilling the bathtub, putting in the soap, gathering everything: nightgowns, bathing caps, and everyone else's smelly clothes they had dropped off. Ruto wrinkled her nose. And once again, that Goron slob forgot to bring his things. _They're stinky and they eat bombs. It's a wonder their race has lasted for so long!_ Ruto thought. Clothespin on her nose and twig basket in hand, she skipped onto the portal and was taken to the Sacred Chamber.

The beautiful sight of the Sacred Chamber awaited her on the other side. The shimmering blue floor reminded her of Lake Hylia, and the dark, distant walls made her think of her home, the Zora Domain. _It _is_ pretty, I'll give it that_. Its twelve pedestals marking the outer ring glittered, but only six of them shone with their own light; the other six were dull; they always had been, as though they hadn't been used in ages. She had often wondered what they were for, but Rauru's memory only went so far back, and he didn't know. He'd said something about it being 'well before' his time.

But today, there was something different about them. Or rather, there was something different about one of them in particular. To her right, a black light flickered on and off, on and off, and she watched it, mesmerized. _Note to self_, she thought, _ask Rauru about the black seal_.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something brown flap across her view onto Saria's pedestal, and disappear. _Nayru's Love, Impa! Give the girl some space! Poor Saria..._ Even though claimed that she didn't like Saria's Sanctuary, Impa spent so much time checking up on her that Ruto started wondering just what was so important. She shook her head.

Back to work! Through the portal, around Darunia, over to the pile of…whatever they were…and into the basket went the clothes. Make sure you got everything! Back around the still sleeping lump, through the portal, and – _oof!_

"Ow!" Ruto screamed, now covered in worn Goron clothes. "Watch where you're going!" she shouted.

"I'm sorry, Ruto," came a distracted voice, and the familiar form of Impa hurried past, but Ruto wouldn't let go that easily, and she grabbed Impa's foot, who tripped and fell, too.

"Get back here! What's going on?"

"Damnit, Ruto, I'm busy!"

"Wait, bothering Saria wasn't enough for you? Now you've got to annoy Darunia, too? And don't go without helping me, you know how nasty this stuff is!" The two women stood back up again, brushing particles of dust off their clothes and not really focusing on what the other was saying. Ruto put the pin back on her nose and started piling the clothes again. Impa reluctantly helped her.

"What do you mean, 'bothering Saria wasn't enough'? I've been talking to Rauru for the past ten minutes."

"Yeah, I saw you going into her portal as I was going to get this oaf's laundry." Ruto nodded her head at Darunia's portal.

Impa looked at the green beacon of the Forest Sage, shimmering innocently, and then back at the now-receding pile of dirty clothes. "W – But…" Impa started, confused, and hurried after Ruto, following her into the Water Sage portal.

There she was met with the familiar water-themed room, with shimmering light on the walls as though she were in a gigantic underground aquarium. And indeed, she was; one of the windows was dedicated to a fish tank next to which a younger Ruto had once spent many sleepless nights watching, but that was almost three years ago, when the loneliness and isolation from her kind had started to sink in fully.

Every time she entered Ruto's Sanctuary, Impa was always met with a sense of awe. Of all of the Sages, her Sanctuary was easily the most magnificent, at least to Impa. Saria's garden was beautiful in its own right, but the Sheikah had always been wary of the Forest and its inhabitants, and so she was always cautious when it came to the Forest Sanctuary. Darunia's sanctum always seemed barren to her, as did that of Nabooru.

Ruto finished throwing the clothes into the bubbling bath she had prepared, and, glancing disgustedly at the Goron clothes, decided to dump the last of the soap in with it.

Impa shook her head and focused. "What had you meant earlier, Ruto?"

Ruto turned around, and said, still stirring the clothes in the basin, "What? Oh, I'd just left to get Darunia's stuff, and I thought saw someone go into SaaAAARGH!" she screamed, as a sharp pain took over her body, and she keeled over. Anger unlike any she had ever known passed through her; pure, unadulterated rage. For the briefest of moments, she lost herself in blind agony, as the entire Realm around them seemed to convulse. And just as quickly as it started, so it ended.

As she came to, she saw the basin on its side, with water and clothes spilling on the floor. She saw Impa above her, with her fist in the wall, and she seemed just as confused as Ruto.

"What – what was that?" she panted, breathless, as she struggled to get up.

"I don't…I don't know," Impa said, pulling her hand out of the sizeable dent she created. "Din's Fire, sorry about this hole," she said, putting her hand to her head to keep herself steady.

But Ruto was already running past her, through the portal into the Sacred Chamber, both Impa and the laundry forgotten. Around her, the quiet Nabooru, the heavy Darunia, and the wizened Rauru appeared on their respective pedestals, as well, each just as confused as she and Impa were. Behind her, an unsteady but alert Impa appeared.

"What was that?" she heard Darunia's low grumble ask, and Ruto looked at them. Darunia was covered in soot, Rauru seemed to be missing tufts of hair – more so than usual, at least, and Nabooru had a small hand towel covering her elbow. It seemed that whatever had happened to her and Impa happened to the others, as well.

It only took a few seconds, though, for the five to realize what was wrong. "Saria," Ruto whispered, and she bolted to the pedestal of the Forest Sage, cursing at herself at the mistake she had made, and praying that her friend was okay. Agonizingly slowly, as it often did when she was in a hurry, time crawled, and her view of her fellow Sages chasing after her, with the heavy clunking of Darunia's boots, and the light tapping of Nabooru's sandals, was replaced by the familiar pleasant green sight and forest fragrance of Saria's Sanctuary. But the sight that met her was far from ordinary.

"By Nayru's Love, _what is going on?_" shouted Ruto.

The remaining Sages poured in behind her, each pushing the person in front of them away so that they, too, could see what was happening. None of them expected the sight they saw.

Saria, eyes blackened with rage, had her fists outstretched, and the vines from behind her were snarling maliciously, each trying to get at the man in their grasp. There was an aura about her, as well; a deathly myrtle green that seemed to darken, rather than brighten, the surrounding air. Fury flowed from her small body in waves, each successively stronger than the last.

But Impa wasn't looking at her. Her gaze was focused on the man in Saria's clutches, an ounce of misplaced recognition on her face. A memory was triggered; a memory of an ancient requiem, far too old for anyone who remains to have heard it, but it was there. The sounds of her fellow Sages were drowned out as she gaped at the man, futilely struggling against his prison.

"Help…me…"

Nabooru acted first. Pulling out her scimitar, Ruto only had a moment to notice the edge was slightly stained with blood before she charged – and was caught by more vines. "Damnit, Saria, I'm just tryin' to help ya, girl!" she screamed.

Saria, or what was talking through her, responded with a distorted voice only vaguely reminiscent of its host. "**I don't need your help!**" it snarled, and threw her to the side. Ruto ran over to check on her. Saria then turned back to the man and shouted, "**You will pay for what you've done!**"

Rauru started mumbling to himself, but Darunia thundered past him, and grabbed the vines. His attempts to rip them, though, were met by even tighter and thicker vines restraining his grasp, until even his strength was unable to damage them.

Impa's gaze didn't falter. She was fascinated by this man, but she knew not why. But the realization of the situation at hand finally broke through, and she spotted the stranger's sword, shining on his back, and she had an idea. "For all of Nayru's Love," Impa whispered, and she leapt. At the same time, Rauru's mutters, which had been steadily increasing in volume, culminated with a shout, and he finally screamed an incantation in ancient Hylian.

Instantly, the chamber was flooded with light; pure and good, and for a moment, the vines loosened, and the aura around Saria seemed to ebb.

With Saria's distraction, Impa grabbed the hilt of the sword out of its scabbard. She landed beside the man, wielding it threateningly, ready to slice the now-weakened vines, but the shadow returned, and pushed Rauru's spell back at him. With its return, the offensive forest doubled its fury. "By the Strength of the Goddesses, what _is_ this thing?" she wondered. The more they fought back, the stronger it got.

But Saria had seen Impa, so surprise was out of the question. Ropes launched at her, and she crouched, ready to fight them off –

"Saria, _stop_!" shouted a voice, and the vines froze. "Look what you're doing!"

Impa's gaze remained fixed upon Saria, but she, too, halted at the outcry. Ruto's soft, but powerful tone filled the room as she pleaded. "Look at us! Look at your friends! We've been with each other for the past three years! The least you could do is not try and kill us!"

Saria looked back at the stranger, then at the Sages, one by one; first at Nabooru, then Rauru, Darunia, Impa, and finally at Ruto again.

"We're not here to hurt you; we're here to _help_ you!"

Slowly, the vines receded, but the man was still chained.

"Saria, _look at me!_ Stop this, please!"

Saria shrieked, but finally, the shadow passed, and the aura around her seemed to move away. The blackness in her eyes faded, to be replaced with their natural vibrant blue. At once, the vines restraining the stranger relaxed, and, no longer supported by magic, fell to the ground. The man, however, slowly glided down, as though floating. But when he touched down, the last of his strength faded, and he collapsed.

Rauru hobbled over to the now terrified Kokiri to comfort her. "Don't worry, Saria. Everyone's okay."

"What have I done?" she sobbed. "What did I do? What have I done?"

"Everyone's okay..."

Satisfied that Nabooru was fine, Ruto joined Rauru's efforts at calming Saria, and even threw in a hug. "It's okay, Newt, Iketh is here, ready to make everything better. Isn't that how it works, Newt?" she said, hoping their old nicknames for each other would help. Saria put on a wry smile, and she stopped shaking.

"Thanks".

* * *

With all that had happened in the past few minutes, it was easy for her to miss something so obvious, but now that she noticed it, she panicked. Using Saria's distress as cover, she quickly put it back, hoping nobody would hear its scraping. Even though she'd never seen it before, she somehow knew what it meant. Something was on the verge of happening, and if the oddities of the past hour were any indication, they'd only just seen the beginning.


	6. The Tranquility of the Garden

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000

Chapter Six: The Tranquillity of the Garden

"So what do we do with him?"

"I can take him outside," Nabooru offered, helpfully. "I'm sure the fresh air would do him some good," she lied.

"It's not really 'outside', Na. You know we can't actually _leave_…"

"Shut up, Ruto, I think I know that by now. So, can I?"

"I don't see why not," Rauru said.

"Hold on a sec, Nabooru. Rauru, can I speak to you privately?" Impa asked urgently.

"Sure. What is it?" The two walked to a corner, and spoke quietly. Nabooru tapped her foot impatiently.

"About this guy, he's…more than he seems. There's something different about him. I don't think I need to tell _you_ that."

"No, you don't. So what is it?"

"Given Nabooru's…_track record_ –"

"Oy! I can hear you, Imp!"

Impa ignored her pun and continued "- I don't know if she's to be trusted with someone so…potentially dangerous."

Rauru considered this for a moment. "I'm sure you've seen his eyes, haven't you?"

Impa blinked, surprised. "Yes, but what does –"

"They're _red_."

Oh. That's what he meant. "Vermillion, actually, but yes, they are."

"Have you considered the possibility that he's, well –"

"The Sheikah are _dead_, Rauru. I'm the only one left. Wishing it can't bring them back."

"You doubt your family's resiliency."

"I _saw_ it," Impa stated firmly. "I saw them die. I _buried my parents_, my _sister_. They're dead."

Rauru blushed. It was not the reaction he was expecting. The mighty, noble Sheikah race was…dead? "It's been…far too long for me," he said sadly. "Was it during the War?"

Impa shook her head. "Afterwards," she said, wiping her face. "It was after our banishment. But that's not the point. The point is that we don't know who he is or of what he's capable. I just don't think that Nabooru should…be alone in this."

"Alright," Rauru conceded, "but I'm not going to let you two stay together. I still remember what happened the last time I made that mistake." He looked past Impa to the rest of the Sages. "Darunia!" he called. "You keep an eye on him, too."

"And leave the sword here!" Impa added.

"Why?" Rauru added, but only so Impa could hear. He wasn't trying to counter; he merely wanted to know what was going through her mind. "I mean, it's a good idea and all, but…" he trailed off.

"You'll want to see this," Impa grinned.

* * *

And so Nabooru reluctantly left the sword behind, and she and Darunia carried the man through the portal back into the Sacred Chamber. As if it sensed their intentions, the symbol of the Triforce in the centre of the room flickered to life. They stepped on the platform, and Nabooru caught a glimpse of a blackened flickering out of the corner of her eye, but the Chamber faded from view, and was replaced by the Garden of Time.

No matter how many times they experienced the rush of fresh air, the smell of a lake, the touch of dirt and grass and water, the heat of a sun, it never got old. The sensational feeling was unique, and a welcome deviation from the norm.

"Alright, let's put him down here," she said, at the edge of the lake. Slowly, they lowered the stranger to the ground.

"Y'know, he's awfully light for someone of his size, eh?" Nabooru noted, sitting on the lakebed. She threw her shoes to the side, and bathed her feet in its rejuvenating water. But her mind was elsewhere. She was frustrated that Impa hadn't let her bring the sword, but if someone could penetrate the seal on the Sacred Realm, then he must surely have other valuable items worth investigating.

"I wonder what's underneath that cloak." She made to remove it, but Darunia spoke.

"Nab, when was the last time you were out here?" he asked, slightly worried.

She got up and turned around. Darunia was back at the Triforce pedestal, looking at something on the ground. The man temporarily forgotten, Nabooru walked back, and answered. "About a week ago, I think. Why?"

"Look."

Darunia pointed at the ground, and Nabooru groaned. _Could you make it any less obvious, you big oaf?_ Nabooru looked down, and initially saw nothing. "So? What is –" she started, but froze. "What…what are _those_?"

"They're footprints; fresh ones, too."

* * *

"Feel better, Saria," Rauru whispered. "Take care of her, Ruto."

"Gotcha," Ruto said.

Impa slung the scabbard over her shoulder, and she and Rauru returned to the Sacred Chamber.

"Okay, first thing's first. That," Impa pointed, "is not supposed to happen."

Beside her, one of the six inactive pedestals was glowing, with a strange black 'light' – for there was no better word for it.

"Indeed, it's not," Rauru said curiously. In his decade of being a Sage, only ever did his, and, in the past three years, the next five, symbols shine. He could only assume that they were for undiscovered Sages, but he had never seen or heard of any of the other Temples.

Beside him, he could feel Impa's curiosity getting the better of her, and he turned. "Don't you think it's best if we wait?" he started, but Impa was halfway there already.

"Blast you, woman, you'll get us both killed!" he shouted, and Impa disappeared in its glow. "You'll be the end of me, I swear!" He looked around, shrugged, and followed her in. "Might as well…"

When he stepped into the light, it grew and enveloped him. Instead of the usual white glittering, he was met with a blackness that was consuming and complete. The surrounding room closed in and pushed him through.

At last, it ended. Rauru was pushed out, and a vast expanse of emptiness met him.

"So you decided to come after all," said Impa.

Rauru gaped in astonishment. "What _is_ this place?" Around the beacon, there was a small circle of glass. After that, there was emptiness.

"I would assume it's another one of the sanctuaries. What force it represents, though, is beyond me."

Rauru raised his hands and a powerful light shone out. It illuminated their faces, the platform, and their clothing, blinding them, but as their eyes adjusted to its brightness and they looked outwards, they still saw nothing. He lowered his hands and the light faded.

"I don't like it here," Rauru shuddered. He turned around, and looked at the symbol on the pedestal – black with white markings. There was a large circle in the middle with a ring around it, and on the ring was another, smaller circle.

"What's that?" Impa turned around and noticed the markings as well.

"It's the insignia of this 'Sanctuary'. It looks kind of like a necklace, if you turn your head…"

"No…" Impa crouched, and traced the ring with her finger. "That's an orbit. That's a sun, and this is a planet. It's a solar system."

Rauru was mightily impressed, but hesitant to believe it just yet. "Why do you say that? The art of stargazing is still in its infantile stage. The Astral Observatory hasn't actually found anything significant, has it?"

"I knew an astrologer once," she said. "But anyway, if I'm right, then what is this?"

Rauru looked at the vast emptiness ahead of them. "Space."

* * *

"Footprints? Whose?"

"Don't look at me; they're too light to be mine."

"And they're too large to be mine or the girls'. What about Impa?" She looked at Darunia.

"No, I think they're his." He looked at the man, still lying on the edge of the lake. Instead, though, Nabooru looked in the direction that the footprints came, and, with no surprise, saw the Doors of Time, sitting innocently in the perimeter of the Garden. "Damn things," she muttered.

Memories returned. She had spent hours every day studying the doors, trying to find a way out, trying to break the spell that bound them shut. But no amount of strength, no amount of force, would budge them.

Nabooru had gathered help; Saria, Ruto, and Darunia had all pitched in their efforts. But sword nor fire nor water nor vine could make it budge.

So how did the intruder succeed?

"It's a match," said Darunia, and Nabooru's train of thought was lost.

"What? Oh, that," she said. Darunia had removed one of the stranger's boots. "Yeah, it figures, I guess," she said.

"Hey, at least I'm trying to do something!" he yelled. "What about you? You're just sitting there, looking at that door. It's not going to open, so forget about it!"

"Well, forgive me, then, for having some hope that I can get out of this hovel! Some of us _want_ to go home! I don't know about you, but I had a _life_!"

"I have a _son_! Don't you lecture me on wanting to go home! I want to leave just as much as you do, but at least I know that fighting that door isn't going to help!"

"We've been here for three years, and only _now_ you tell me you have a son?!" she shouted.

"You never asked," Darunia countered, equal in volume.

They heard a groaning, and Nabooru swore under her breath. She looked at the stranger, who, instead of waking up, merely muttered something indistinctly and continued resting.

Darunia looked back at Nabooru and, reluctantly, apologized. "Look, he's our best chance of getting out of here. If we're ever going to return to Hyrule, we need to keep an eye on him."

"I agree," Nabooru replied.

Together, they approached the man again, and removed his cloak. "If we're going to help him, we should at least see him first, shouldn't we?" Nabooru reasoned. Carefully, making sure not to disturb him, they removed the cloak. "Wow, this thing's seen battle!" she noted, seeing its scrapes and scratches and holes. Any reason why the man kept such a thing was beyond her. Underneath it laid the intruder. He appeared to be in his early thirties, judging by his height and face. He had numerous scars up and down his arms, all of which had healed, and were only faintly outlined. His muscles were larger than expected, and his hands and feet were coarse, probably roughened by wielding his overly large sword for long periods of time, as well as long treks across the plains.

On his face were only a few scars. The ones that Nabooru could find had long since disappeared, but the skin underneath was softer than the skin around it. But his lips—

"Nab – what are you doing?" Darunia interrupted.

Nabooru paused, and realized that she was getting rather more than slightly physical with him. She had already felt over half his body, and she jumped back, startled, landing in the water. Darunia laughed.

"Shut up! I've been cooped up here for 3 years! I have…needs…"

Darunia fell over in hysteria.

* * *

"'The Sanctuary of Space'? Doesn't that sound a bit…strange to you?"

"Well, it's either Space or Astrology, and, I don't think the latter is an especially useful Force, do you?"

"No, I don't, but I rather think we should leave. This place disturbs me. There's something…otherworldly about it."

Rauru glanced around him at the endless expanse about him, and nodded. "Yes, let's go." They stepped on the pedestal, and were once again consumed by black walls, pressing against them, until they were returned to the Sacred Chamber.

Impa shuddered. "Whatever that place was meant to do, it's not good," she said.

"You're probably right. I'll be happy if I never go back there again." He turned to Impa. "Okay. What is it about that sword you wanted to show me?"

"Not out here. I don't want Saria or Ruto to stumble on this accidentally. Follow me."

Curious, Rauru hobbled along behind her as they relocated to Impa's Sanctuary. A violet glow surrounded them; much more pleasant than what they had just experienced, and they exited in the Sanctuary of Shadow.

At first, it had irked him, but three years was a long time, and Rauru had grown accustomed to its darkened tones. However, the memories of the dark emptiness just moments before caused all shadows to appear threatening.

Impa seemed a bit worried about something, though, so he put his unease aside and listened.

"What do you know about _Azurewrath_?" she asked.

Rauru creased his forehead in thought. "Do you mean the sword? Not very much, I'm afraid. All I've heard about it are legends, passed down from aeons ago. It's supposedly a mythical sword, said to contain supernatural powers. It was very deadly, but nobody's used it, or even _seen_ it, in centuries. But I don't believe that it ever existed, as no actual evidence ever exposed itself. Why do you ask?" Impa took the sword strap off her shoulders and laid the sword in its scabbard down on the floor. "Oh, don't tell me you think that's _Azurewrath_! It's just a myth, it never existed."

"It _glows_."

"What?!" Rauru asked, astonished.

"It glows blue. How many swords do you think do that?"

She picked up the casing and pulled it out a sliver. To Rauru's great surprise, it indeed was glowing with a faint blue. Before he could touch it, however, Impa slid it back, and directed his attention elsewhere.

"Take a look at this," she said, turning it over. "I noticed it had some markings written on it. It looked like Old Hylian, but I can't translate it. I was hoping you could."

She handed the scabbard to Rauru, who cast a light above it to see more clearly.

"Hmm, it's definitely an artefact. Text has been scratched into the surface, but I have no idea what it means. Perhaps it really _is_ as ancient as the myths suggest. Perhaps it's not Hylian, or it could even be that the person who etched it simply liked those characters. There's no way to tell from here."

Curiosity getting the better of him, he unsheathed the sword, and allowed it to cast its cool glow upon the room. It was calm, yet threatening at the same time.

"_Azurewrath_," he muttered. "Could it really be?"

Its mysterious feel called out to him, and he felt an urge, a little push at the back of his mind. He wanted to touch it, to know what it felt like.

"Rauru, don't –" Impa warned, but it was too late. Rauru's hand touched the surface of the blade, and he screamed.

* * *

Nabooru got up and shook the water off her hair. "Damnit, Darunia!" she cried. She sat back down next to the man, who awoke with a start, drenched in sweat. "Whoa, calm down."

"Stop…him…" he groaned in a low voice, as though in pain. "Stop him…"

Nabooru looked up at Darunia, and urged, "Go tell Rauru he's awake!" Darunia nodded, and thundered off back to the portal.

"Lie down, mister. Why don't you start with your name?" She urged the man back, but he pushed her arm out of the way and stumbled to his feet.

"He's got to stop…"

* * *

He saw flashes of black, and a glimmer of colour in the distance. In an instant, the black was replaced with beautiful scenery, which immediately turned to a battlefield. Ages passed by in seconds.

Rauru tried to scream, but no sound came out. _What's happening to me?!_ The blood dried and the vicious animals vanished, and a tentative peace was formed. Great hail rained down on the field, but that, too, passed in mere moments. Around him, villages were erected; the start of an organized civilization. But that, too, was demolished quickly.

Inside, he felt the emotions of the world that he watched evolve; moments of happiness buried within seconds of pain. It slowly dawned on him what he was watching, and it terrified him.

An Ice Age wrought the end of the civilization, but the snow melted and gave way to a new, prosperous land. New animals sprung forth from the ground, and new, lasting fortifications were erected. Now only the wars of Man could damage them. But so they did, and for the next two seconds, Rauru watched in fear as everything turned a darkened shade of red. But a bright light shone from behind the mountain, and cast away the darkness.

"Rauru!" shouted a voice, and the horrors before him faded.

"Hey, Impa! He woke up," spoke another voice, but Rauru was still trapped.

Suddenly, it stopped, and Rauru was left shuddering, alone and crying. "Oh Goddesses, what have we done?" he mouthed, unable to speak, over and over.

Nabooru hurried in after the stranger, and kicked him. "That's for bending my sword, jerk!" she shouted.

But the stranger was not listening. He had returned the glowing sword back into its sheath, and was shaking Rauru, attempting to bring him out of his reverie.

"Rauru, look at me!" he said, in his low, echoing voice, but Rauru didn't seem to hear him.

"Snap out of it, old man!" shouted Nabooru, snapping in his face, but that only seemed to make his anguish worse. Impa pulled her back, as well as the man.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"He's touched _Azurewrath_. He's not supposed to do that. There's a reason why it has that name."

Impa loosened her grip at confirmation of her thought, and the man wrenched his shirt free from her hands. He crouched back down, and whispered in Rauru's ear, "What is it? What did you see? Tell me, please. What's going to happen?"

Rauru's rocking stopped, and he regained awareness of his surroundings. He looked at the man, wide-eyed and terrified. "It's Hyrule! What have we done to our beloved land?"

"I don't know, Rauru. But if you tell me what you saw, maybe we can stop it. What happened?"

"T–There was a…a war."

"Yes, Rauru, that already happened. The Imprisonment War is over. We won. _Link_ won. For _us_! What happened _after_ the war? What comes next?"

"A f – fl – flood; there was a g-great flood, th-the l-likes of which w-w-we have never-never seen."

The man's face turned into a moment of worry, but was replaced with a calm smile. "Everything's okay, Rauru," said the man, hugging Rauru. "Everything's going to be just fine."

Inside, his fears came true. They were all in danger.


	7. The Fate of the Blessed

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000

Chapter Seven: The Fate of the Blessed

"Nabooru: stop dripping water in my room, please. Go change, and get Saria and Ruto. I think it's time we learnt something, and I think they should be here when we decide what to do next."

"But Impa–"

"I said 'go'."

Reluctantly, Nabooru left, but that only gave them a few minutes; half an hour, tops. Impa had noticed the disfigured sword that the stranger had dropped when he entered. If he could physically overpower a ninja-like fighting style in such a weak state, Impa didn't want to see what he could do full strength to her.

As she turned back to the man, it struck her how benevolent he seemed to be, but she didn't know why. _Just because he had red eyes doesn't mean he's Sheikah! I think I would be able to tell if I were staring at a member of my own race!_ But she had to admit, having that shade and _not_ being Sheikah was a rare combination. And she _did_ feel something when she looked at him, but it was a different something; not the something of kinship, but of familiarity.

Behind her, she heard Darunia pick up the bent sword and easily straighten it again. Impa cleared her mind of wishful thoughts and turned her focus back to what needed to be done.

"Well then, mister, I think we should have a talk."

The stranger finished comforting Rauru, and slung the sword back over his shoulder. Slowly, he turned around and stood up, hands rubbing his arms where the vines had dug into his skin. "How long was I out?" he asked, and Impa was struck with the same sense of awe as Saria at his voice. Then he added, more to himself, "However long it was clearly wasn't long enough." The stranger wobbled unsteadily, and held himself up with the desk, almost knocking over Impa's amethyst crystal. "Argh, sorry about that, Madam Impa," he said, putting it back.

"Wait, how do you know my name?" asked Impa quickly.

"What, do you think someone who brea---agh!" he put a hand to his chest, and his knees gave out to his weight. Impa instinctively stepped forward, but the man held out a hand to stop her, and he caught his breath. He turned his head around to Rauru behind him, and said, "You know, you really shouldn't have touched it. But if I were you, I probably would have done the same thing, so I can't say I blame you. Kudos goes to you for curiosity, but you lose some for doing it anyway." Rauru's obvious look of confusion made the stranger sigh, and he strained to help the old man up and led him to the bed. "You need this more than I do," he said.

"Thanks," muttered the wizened Sage. "But who _are_ you?"

"I'm a wanderer," he replied. "I have very little purpose now, except to help where I see fit. But I do what I can –"

"And you see it fit here? You see it fit now?" Darunia asked, and the man turned in surprise. Darunia was absent-mindedly twirling the sword in his hands, but was just as intent on understanding just what in Din's name the man was doing in the Sacred Realm as Impa and Rauru were.

The man furled his brow and said, "Tell me, when was the last time the Hero of Time visited your son, Link, the boy who was named after your self-proclaimed brother?" He turned to Impa. "When was the last time he paid tribute to your hometown, the strong and noble Kakariko Village?" Thirdly, he looked at Rauru. "And how long has it been since you last felt his strong spirit protecting the fair plains of Hyrule Field?"

Impa stepped forward threateningly. The man had done nothing but talk since he awoke abruptly, but almost none of it had made the slightest bit of sense. "You never answered my question. How do you know so much about us?"

"Being unknown by everyone has its benefits, and I feel they outweigh being known by everyone. I know all of this about you – and more, as well as having equally extensive knowledge about your three friends – Misses Saria, Ruto, and Nabooru – because I have time; lots of time. And nobody comes looking, because nobody knows who I am... not here… not anymore." As the stranger was talking, ignoring Impa's threatening posture, he walked over to the window, and put his ear to it, as if listening for something. He tapped his knuckles against it in several different places, after which he contentedly said "Hmm," and turned back to the Sages.

Impa watched carefully, ready to react in case he made a dangerous move, but he continued to appear completely harmless; instead, he gave a feeling much like a curious child. He looked at everything, never focusing on anything for too long, and always with the same bright-eyed look on his face. But as he looked at them again, she sensed that he was distressed about something.

"I've spent my time in recent years following our young friend, Link – the Hylian child, not your son – and observing him. One thing in particular that I noticed was his incredible luck, despite his being a brash child. He rarely strayed far from his home, and when I had errands, I trusted the Great Deku Tree to watch over him, which left me free to keep an eye on other things."

"Who, or should I ask 'what', _are_ you, such that gives you the right to spy on us like that? You don't get to know this much just by stalking," Rauru whispered.

The stranger turned around and looked at him. "I've already told you, I'm a wan –"

"Yes, yes, you've said, you're a wanderer. But that's gotten old, and fast. You're trying our patience, young man! Give us a name!"

"You want a name? I suppose I can give you that, but afterwards, we must discuss more important matters." The man bowed his head to Rauru. "You may call me 'Hyre'."

* * *

"There we go, Newt. Are we feeling better?" Ruto asked, as Saria lay sprawled out on her bed. She filled a glass with water, and handed it to her friend. Saria smiled, took the glass, thanked her, and drank. In an instant, the glass was empty again, and Ruto refilled it.

"You know, you don't have to show off like that. We have plumbing… somehow," Saria pointed out, looking at a sink. Despite her comment, she still grinned as water seemed to appear from nowhere into the cup.

"Yeah, and you don't have to show off how thick-headed you are!" she said, tousling Saria's hair.

"Hey! What was that for?" Saria laughed, pushing her friend off her bed. Some water sloshed onto the grassy floor, but neither noticed, nor did they care.

"For being Miss Oblivious, that's what!" It was Ruto's turn to laugh, and she picked herself off the ground.

"What are you talking about?" asked Saria, and Ruto laughed harder, this time at her own joke.

"You've always got your head in the clouds, not really focusing on anything. What's up with that?"

Saria looked away. "I'm just… I'm just waiting for something."

"For what could you possibly be waiting? There's nothing that can… Well, not _nothing_, but…"

"_Now_ who's Miss Oblivious, Ruto?" Saria quickly threw in, but her friend ignored it.

"Anyway, that guy; what was he like? Was he cute?" Ruto's eyes shone with excitement, and Saria gasped at her.

"_Ruto!_" she said, barely concealing a giggle.

"What?" Ruto replied, equally giddy. "It's not like we've had anything to gossip about in years, is it?"

"No, but –"

"So why not?" Ruto's grin was obvious at this point, and Saria pushed her back.

"Then if you're gonna go after him, then that means that Link's all mine!"

"I didn't say that!"

"Now you're just being greedy!"

"C'mon, just tell me what he's like! Did you speak to him? Is his voice soft? Tell me his voice is soft… Hmm…" Ruto trailed off, staring past Saria's head at nothing in particular.

"No, it's more… it's deeper, like the Great Deku Tree, but… different. There was something about him, though…I don't know if it was the way he talked or what he said, but there was something… different… about him." Like Ruto, Saria became lost in thought. He'd definitely had something exciting about him. But as alluring as he might have been physically, it was what he'd said that was most exciting to her.

_Memories are precious things. They serve as reminders to one's history, one's loyalties…one's friendships. A single positive memory can make a person do wondrous things. Imagine what a lifetime of them can do._

She looked at her overgrown ceiling, thinking about the man's words.

_The Hero of Time, with his heart full of love and kindness, set out to rescue this land. But the first thing he did, the _first_ place he went, was home, to the Kokiri Forest, to visit you, because you, Miss Saria, are the most important person to Link_.

"I'm waiting for you, Link," she whispered.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Nabooru burst into the room for the second time that morning. "Saria, Ruto!" she called. "Come on!"

"What? What is it?" mumbled Ruto, at the foot of Saria's bed. "Do we have to?"

"Get _up_, princess!" Nabooru shouted with disgust. She looked directly at Saria. "And be a bit more careful this time; we don't want him dead. He's awake, and in Impa's room!" With that, she turned around and stomped back onto the glittering pedestal and, with a _whoosh_, vanished.

There was a brief moment of silence as the two girls looked at each other, and – "I'll race you!"

Saria scrambled out of bed, jumping on Ruto's head in her scramble to get through the portal.

"Oh, no you don't!" shouted Ruto, and the two of them disappeared in the shining of the portal. Ahead, Nabooru could be seen disappearing in a purple glow.

* * *

"Okay, then, Hyre. It's nice to meet you. Now, will you kindly tell us how in Din's name you got here?"

Hyre sighed, and said "Well _that_ was anticlimactic."

"W – What?" Impa asked, dumbfounded.

"That! Your method of questioning, you don't have any sense of build-up, any sense of _drama_!" The man was gesturing wildly, and Impa took a step backwards.

"What… excuse me?" she asked again, regaining her composure.

"Going right to the point?" Hyre said loudly. "That's not the right way to do it! You – you're supposed to ask where I'm from, _why_ I'm here… I don't know, ask what superpowers I have or something, and _then_ ask how I got here!"

Nabooru appeared next to Darunia, and froze. "Clearly, I have missed something," she said. Saria and Ruto materialized behind her, squabbling with each other.

"I was here first, Iketh!"

"Shut up, Newt, I'm ahead of you!"

"That's because you're bigger than I am!"

"I'm still here first!"

"Would you two _shut it_?"

"Sorry, Nab…"

"You," Impa shouted, and she pointed at Hyre. The man had wasted enough time.

"Me," Hyre responded, innocently, pointing at himself and looking around as though Impa had the wrong man.

"Damnit, Hyre! Why are you intentionally being so difficult? _How… did… you… get… here?_" she said.

At the mentioning of his name, Saria and Ruto turned to each other and mouthed it. 'Hyre'? What kind of name was that?

"I got here the same way that you did – through the door."

Impa resisted the urge to smack him. "And how did you manage that? That door's been locked tight by a powerful enchantment for three years," Impa snorted. She didn't like anyone trying to be clever when it wasn't called for, but that was all this man was doing. Multiple times in the past ten minutes, she'd considered conjuring up a pit into the abyss to swallow him, but she felt that they would simply return to their drab lives as the Sages, and nothing would really be done. But the longer he spoke, the more tempting it felt.

"I assume you haven't tried it yourself, then, Madam Impa. Is that right?" Hyre asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That is correct. I haven't personally tried to open it, but I've seen how futile the attempts of everyone else had been, and decided to spare myself the disappointment."

"Well, that was your mistake, then, wasn't it?" asked Hyre, once again paying attention to something other than Impa.

"Will you at least _look_ at me when you talk?" Impa burst out. "It's very rude looking at something else, you know!"

"Why?" The intruder frowned. "I already know what you look like, why must I keep focusing on you? Unless there's something you want me to see, that is…" Despite having been weakened to the point of collapsing just minutes before, he seemed to be ready and willing to be stubborn.

"It's common courtesy, that's why. And what happened to your 'more important matters'? All you seem to be doing is goofing off!"

That caught his attention. In an instant, his entire demeanour changed to a more sombre appearance. "You have my apologies, Madam Impa. And I extend those apologies to all present, as well. It has been far too long since I have seen a… _reality_," Impa noticed he stressed the word rather strongly, "that has fascinated me so. But, as I have said, there are more important issues at hand than the glittering gemstones and other curiosities that now reside here."

"Such as…?" Impa inquired.

"The Hero of Time is missing."

"Say _what_?" shouted Saria. "What happened? Where is he?" Saria ran forward, but Ruto grabbed her collar and restrained her.

"Not so fast, Newt: don't attack him twice in one morning."

Saria wrenched her shirt free from her friend's grasp with a "humph," and looked back at Hyre. "What do you mean 'missing'?"

"That is why I am here," the man slowly responded. "I do not know where he is. I lost track of his whereabouts three years ago, and have not been able to find him since then."

"I can answer that for you," Darunia grunted. "Zelda and her magic sent him back."

"Yes, I knew that, however… Ugh, this would be a lot easier if I could just – Madam Impa, may I borrow that for a moment?" Hyre asked, pointing to Impa's amethyst crystal.

She raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Show and tell."

"What do you mean?" Impa's agitation grew.

"Visual accompaniment would help immensely right now."

"Hold on, how do you even know –" she started, but Hyre ignored her. Once again, the man acted with an enthusiasm that seemed wildly inappropriate, given the situation. "Well then, go right ahead!" she added sarcastically.

With much more motion than seemed at all necessary, Hyre returned to the nightstand, picked up the crystal, and plopped himself down on the floor. He closed his eyes, placing his hands on the orb. His breathing slowed down, and he seemed to be absorbed by whatever it was he was doing. The Sages watched, some with confusion, others with irritation, and the rest with awe.

"What's he doing?" Saria whispered to Ruto, who shrugged.

"Don't look at me," Ruto answered, shaking her head. "It looks like he's trying to use it, you know, like we do…"

The man twitched, and a light flickered somewhere. "This thing doesn't like me, does it?" he muttered to himself.

"Alright, mister," Impa said, stepping forward. "I've had enough of your shennani—WHAT THE --!"

Before her, the orb suddenly burst with a violet light, and shadowy, translucent objects began appearing around the room with them. She watched in fascination, her impatience with Hyre gone. For a few seconds, she was immersed in a scene of incredible beauty. Crystalline structures surrounded a great hall, at the end of which sat a handsome man in plain, but clean, clothes, eating what appeared to be a cucco sandwich. His face bore a familiar semblance, but nobody had enough time to get a closer look.

"No, that's not it," muttered Hyre, eyes still closed, and the figures flickered and morphed into something else.

"Who was that?" asked Nabooru, wide-eyed, but Hyre ignored her.

"There we go."

Saria and Ruto gasped, and Darunia dropped the sword. Impa stood up in surprise, and even Rauru managed a "By the Goddesses…"

"But… that's _me_!" Saria said.

Suddenly, the seven of them were surrounded by a dozen tall, straight trees. The violet 'ceiling' above them gave way to a cool, olive-green glow, and occasional bright lights flashed around them. Through the centre of the room, a rope bridge connected two large, decaying logs. In the middle indeed stood Saria, sad-faced and looking at one of the logs. Soon, a second figure appeared onto the bridge.

"Yeah, and that's Link," Ruto added, stating the obvious.

"What's going on?" Rauru asked, astonished.

Saria the Sage stepped forward, slowly at first, but realized that the floor was still in fact there; they were only watching an illusion. She walked up to the figure of herself, and reached out. Her hand passed through the image of herself with a flicker, and the Forest Sage retreated sadly. "Oh, Saria…" she whispered.

"This is the best I can do," Hyre said. "And it figures – Sanctuary of Shadow and all…" They watched as the figure of Link hurried away, and the voice of Saria spoke, younger-sounding, and more distant than now.

"_Oh, so you're leaving…"_

The projection of Link stopped, and turned around in surprise. Slowly, he walked towards Saria, who continued. _"I knew… that someday you would leave the Forest… someday… because you're different from my friends and me…. But that's okay, because we'll be friends forever. Won't we be?"_

Saria the Sage turned away. "I have to go, I can't watch this." The reminders were too painful, too powerful. And how was Hyre able to bring this memory, which had happened so long ago, to full view of everybody? She hugged Ruto tightly, but the scene continued, unaware of the pain it caused.

The younger Saria pulled something out of a pocket, and handed it to Link. _"I want you to have this Ocarina. Please take good care of it."_ Link fumbled for words, but was unable to say anything. Tears began forming in his eyes as he looked at his long-time friend, and then at her cherished Fairy Ocarina.

"_When you play my Ocarina, I hope you will think of me, and you'll come back to the Forest to visit me."_ Link, having not said a single word the entire time, turned around and ran, leaving Saria, and her fairy, alone.

"This was just over ten years ago," said Hyre, "just after the Great Deku Tree sent Link on a mission that would change our land." Around him, the figures changed, and now Link could be seen approaching Hyrule Castle. "Link's mission was simple: to take the Kokiri Emerald to the 'Princess of Destiny', or Princess Zelda, heir to the throne. There, he was given greater insight into the plan of Ganondorf, and was told of a way to stop him. He had to collect the remaining two Spiritual Stones."

As he spoke, the castle changed to Zelda herself, followed by the three Spiritual Stones. Ruto and Darunia instinctively motioned towards their respective jewels after such a long time, but realized that it was just a projection; it wasn't the actual gem.

"Time went on, and I followed Link on his missions. I didn't interfere with him directly, but I had a friend following him, giving him advice when he needed it –"

"Why not? Why didn't you do anything? You just let Ganondorf take over!" Darunia said, picking up the sword again, and attempting to wield it. His attempt was futile, however, as it was clearly much too small for his bulky hands, but he tried anyway. "Why did you let everything we loved get destroyed by that maniac?"

The images of Link, fighting against monsters, turned to Ganondorf as Hyre's thoughts shifted to the King of Thieves.

"I didn't have a choice. Don't get me wrong – I love this land just as much as you do. It's become my home just as much as it is yours, and I do not want to lose it. But by the time Ganondorf registered to me as a threat, it was too late." Hyre shrugged. "I'm certainly not perfect, and I don't pretend to be. I wouldn't have been a match for him, not without help. But I had faith that the Goddesses would help, that they would come to our rescue. I'll get to that shortly." Darunia begrudgingly accepted the answer for the moment, and put the sword down.

"As I was saying, I was following Link, helping him when he needed it. Slowly, he overcame the barriers that stood between him and this kingdom's salvation, and acquired the three Spiritual Stones. It was at this time that Ganondorf successfully overthrew King Daphnes of Hyrule Town, and our land plummeted into seven years of darkness…"

Nabooru interrupted. "Hey, wait a minute!" she said nervously. "I know I met him before he killed those demonic witches."

"You mean Twinrova? Yes, I'm getting to that, don't worry."

"Hmm," Nabooru said, returning to her corner, and Hyre resumed.

"Desperately, Link entered the Temple of Time and grasped the powerful Master Sword – and vanished. When I followed him into the chamber just minutes later, he was gone, but the Master Sword was still in its pedestal. Instead, there was an echo of an ancient melody in the room, and so, on a whim, I followed it. That melody was the Requiem of Spirit." At his words, the cloaked, shadowy figure of Hyre pulled out an instrument they had never before seen, and played a solemn tune, at perhaps a rather higher key than appropriate, but it was cut short, for it was Impa's turn to interrupt again.

"This is a fantastic story; really interesting. But you said that you had something important to tell us. From what I've seen, for the last fifteen minutes, you've done nothing but show us how good of a memory you have – you've yet to get to anything that needs urgent action."

"That's because I have been interrupted three times thus far, Madam." He twitched, trying to maintain control over both himself and the projections around them, but it was clear that it wasn't easy. The orb flickered slightly.

"You _wouldn't_ be interrupted if you actually got to the point! And why do you keep calling me 'Madam'?" Impa, too, was losing her patience. They had never seen her get angry before, and Ruto backed away slightly. For the first time since he sat down, Hyre opened his yes and looked directly at one of them, and the light from the amethyst faded altogether.

"It is how I was raised to address those with whom I am not yet familiar. And I may not have gotten to any _noticeable_ point yet, but I can assure you, that everything I am saying, and _why_ I am saying it, will make sense, shortly. I tell you all of this because I want you to understand the incredible history that surrounds Link. You have each partaken in a separate chapter in his life. I am giving you the full story as I have witnessed it."

Hyre did not raise his voice, but his sternness was noted, and Impa backed off again, and resorted to tapping her foot in impatience, waiting for the story to end. He closed his eyes, and the inside of the Temple of Time returned around them.

"I played the Requiem, one of a dozen tunes with unique properties. Each of them is tied to a platform, and playing the tune will bring the one who plays it there. Well, that was how the plan was laid out – supposedly. Half of them don't even exist, or have never been found, but I digress.

"The Requiem of Spirit is bound to a platform in a location the Gerudos call the Desert Colossus, just outside of the Spirit Temple." He nodded in the general direction of where Nabooru was supposed to be lurking, and continued. "I was plagued with curiosity as to how he learnt it, but I would wait a long time to come up with an answer to that question.

"I did not follow him into the temple. This was his journey, and I was not going to interfere. I knew he was too young and too weak-bodied to overcome all of the challenges that were likely to await him, but the young boy surprised me. He overcame the first half of the Temple with ease, but the Twinrova – Kotake and Koume – found Nabooru, and imprisoned her, distracting Link from his mission.

"Link returned to the Temple of Time using another of the twelve melodies – the Prelude of Light. I followed him back, and watched him grab the hilt of the Master Sword, and vanish, once again. But this time, there was no echo of music. There was only the distinct absence of the boy who was touched by Fate. Hours passed, Link did not return. In the end, I surrendered myself to the possibility that he _would_ not return. And so Ganondorf was left unchallenged, and he wrought destruction upon us.

"Again, I did not have a chance to stop Ganondorf, either before his rise to power, or after. Such an attempt would have been foolhardy on my part, as I was not capable of penetrating his Tower's barrier – believe me, I had tried. But do not think I sat idly by, waiting for some semblance of help to arrive. I did what I could, slowly whittling away his forces."

The shadowy figures in the room matched his words, telling the same story, but they also gave the full effect of his talk, depicting the horrors of the plains of Hyrule Field, and the nightmare that had befallen the Hyrule Market Town.

"But then, one day, three years ago, our prayers were answered." The Temple of Time, behind the shadowy figure that was clearly meant to be Hyre, shone with a bright white light, and, for a moment, a horrified look of recognition formed in Rauru's eyes. "Link returned. The Temple of Time, in all its magnificence, demonstrated an incredible power – it brought the gifted boy to full maturity. I did not need to see him arrive. I could _feel_ it.

"One by one, I watched as the Hero of Time, empowered by time itself, overcome increasingly challenging tasks. Phantom Ganon, Volvagia, Morpha, Bongo-Bongo, and Twinrova – Ganondorf's strongest and most trusted allies – all fell to the youth's godly Courage." At the mentioning of each monster, a corresponding projection formed, and the Sage whom it terrorized felt a shiver traverse his or her spine. "Each of you, save Rauru, was witness to one sixth of the most unlikely overthrow of power in recorded history. And after he'd successfully awakened you as Sages, he completed his seven year mission – with you six as his aides, he entered Gannon's Tower and defeated the King of Thieves, destroying his tower in the process.

"Then he disappeared. There was not a trace of him anywhere. However, I was lucky enough to chance upon a very good-willed and, admittedly, drunk, former Hylian Knight named Xaviel."

Impa coughed impatiently, and Hyre opened his eyes to look at her again. She had not stopped tapping her foot for the past ten minutes, and Hyre took that as his cue.

"But Xaviel isn't important right now, I'll tell his story a bit later. Long story short, all trails that I followed finding him stopped dead about two and a half years ago. The reason I have shown these images to you, the reason I have taken the last half hour of your day, and why I have interrupted your lives so abruptly at all, is that I need you to understand what we face. The Hero of Time, the boy who overcame challenges posed by _time itself_ is missing. We have to find him, for if we don't, I fear that what Rauru saw will come to pass." The images around them disappeared, and the features of the Sanctuary of Shadow returned.

"What did he see?" Saria asked.

Rauru looked at Hyre, and slowly turned to Saria, before answering, "The destruction of Hyrule."


	8. The Missive of the Oracles

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000

Chapter Eight: The Missive of the Oracles

_Cock-a-doodle-doo!_

_Damn cuccos_, she thought. _Why can't it be tomorrow already?_ "Hmm," she said, and got out of bed, anyway. _I've just one more day to go…_

_Cock-a-doodle-doo!_

The first ray of sunlight crept over the top of the outer wall, and her bright red hair glowed in its light. She, however, was already hard at work by then. Since Ganondorf's downfall three years ago, she, her father, and the ranch, were busier than ever. "The return of freedom to Hyrule has brought about the largest surge in demand in our lives since the end of the Civil War," her father had told her. "We have to do our best to keep up, or we'll be put out of business!"

_So much for hard work, Father_, she thought bitterly. Despite his ever-enthusiastic spirit, his body was as lazy as they get.

There was so much to do, and so little time in the morning to get it done. After a quick 15-minute shower, during which she promised herself that tomorrow's shower would be luxuriously longer, she got to work.

The girl gathered several buckets, and headed into the stable, placed a bucket underneath one of the several oddly plain white cows, and sat down next to her.

"So how are you this morning, Boann?" she asked as she milked the cow. Boann simply continued chewing the dying grass in front of her, and didn't seem to care that she was asked a question.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling the best, either," the girl said, and continued. "But at least tomorrow promises to be better. And that comet the other night was beautiful." Seeing as Boann continued to ignore the conversation, the girl started whistling to herself.

She poured pellets of food into the dishes, opened the door, and called, "Come on, girls and boys, breakfast time," and a herd of horses trotted into the stable. "…Nineteen, twenty – stop chewing on my skirt, Kathy, the food's already inside – twenty one, twenty two… Hey, where's Rhia? Hey, Rhia, where'd you go? Rhiannon! Kathy, I said _stop_!" She pushed the young horse into the stable, picked up the buckets of milk, closed the lower door, and went looking for Rhia. She sprinkled some birdseed on the ground for the cuccos, and scanned the field, but Rhia was missing. "Rhiannon, where are you?" she shouted. _Oh, no,_ she thought.

"Hey, did somebody lose a horse?" said a familiar voice from behind her, and she threw her hands up as she remembered that today was delivery day – and then realized too late that she had been holding the milk buckets, and stood there panicking, covered in milk. At least only one bucket had spilled on her. With a clank, she dropped the buckets, sloshing some milk onto the field.

"Hey, Malon, is everything okay? That crash –"

"Uh, yeah, I'll be there in a moment, I just need to go… do something quickly…" she squealed.

Malon embarrassedly ran inside and upstairs to her room to put on a cleaner dress. She hastily dried and brushed her hair, briefly smiled at her reflection in the mirror, even daring a wink, and hurried back outside.

"Hi there, Liaku," she said with a much brighter smile on her face. She looked at the horse he had in tow, and shook a finger at her in a motherly way. "Don't keep running off, Rhia! You worry me like that, you know. Do you want me to keep worrying about you?" She patted Rhia on the head. Hungry for breakfast, Rhia neighed, and sniffed Malon's hand for food. "Food's all ready," Malon said as she led the horse and Liaku, trailing a wheelbarrow in his stead, to the stable.

She turned around to Liaku, and smiled again. The boy was only a few inches taller than she was, and about a year older. His short black hair, while not her usual… preference, suited his demeanour well – that of a hard-working farmer. The look was certainly helped by the wheelbarrow behind him. Liaku reached in and picked up one of the crates. "Delivery," he said, opening it and showing her the various fruits and vegetables it contained.

"Oh, that's right," Malon said, making sure she wasn't holding anything this time, and slapping a hand to her forehead. She had forgotten again. Malon looked wildly around her until she found her crate of Lon Lon milk and eggs, and they swapped packages. Liaku put the milk and eggs back into the wheelbarrow. The whole time, Malon kept smiling, and even added a little hum.

"You seem happy," Liaku said, noting the obvious. Everything about her seemed lively, from the way she hummed to the way she whirled her head around her when she was confused; everything was done with grace.

"I do?" Malon asked, pretending not to have noticed, but completely failed to conceal her smile.

Liaku's eyes lit up, and he said, "Check underneath that bag there. Not that one, it's the one next to it – that one, right." He pointed to the bag on the end and watched as Malon picked up the carrots. Underneath was a sweet-smelling brown bar.

"What's this?" she asked, picking it up and sniffing it. She had never smelled anything like it before, and wasn't quite sure what to expect – she knew smells could be deceiving. Malon tentatively nibbled a corner, and to her delight, it tasted just as delicious as its aroma.

Her friend's face grew into a smile, and said proudly, "It's something called 'chocolate'. We got a shipment of these little things called 'cocoa beans' from Labrynna a few weeks ago, and Mother and I decided to try making some for ourselves. Do you like it?"

"It's _wonderful_, Li!" she said, dropping the crate and giving her friend a hug. "Thanks!"

Liaku returned the hug, and looked at her. "Don't eat it all at once; we only made eight of them."

Malon nodded, took a small bite, and put it back in the crate.

"I know tomorrow's your birthday, so I asked Mother if I could take the day off. She said it was okay, so, if you'd like, we could, say, watch the sun rise over Lake Hylia, and spend the day together – there's going to be a concert in Hyrule Town in the afternoon. What do you think?"

Malon gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and said, "I'd _love_ it! Thanks!"

"Alright, I'll come get you when the sky starts getting lighter. See you tomorrow, Mal!"

With an equally magnificent grin on his face, Liaku turned the wheelbarrow around and left the ranch. As soon as he was out of Malon's sight, he added a skip to his step, and nearly knocked the wheelbarrow over. _Maybe I should be a bit more careful, at least until I get back_, he thought to himself.

Malon's eyes glossed over as she lost herself in thought as to what they might do tomorrow.

* * *

"Hey, Ingo, is he still in there?" Malon asked as she passed the only other worker at the ranch. "It's breakfast time, and I haven't seen him yet."

Ingo grunted. "Yeah, he's still in there. Lazy bum, that's why I didn't –" he started, but a fierce glance from Malon told him that he was going too far, and finished, "– that's why I didn't want to wake him. Yeah, that's it. I didn't want to wake him," he said nervously, and hurried out.

"_Father!_" she called, walking into Talon's bedroom carrying his tray. "Get up, Father!"

As usual, her father awoke with a start. "Huh? What is it? Is it mornin' already?" he said, still half asleep.

"It's _been_ morning for hours, Father," she said, setting the tray next to him and heading back out of the room. "The shadow's almost at the second fence-mark."

Talon jumped. "Oh goodness, is it really that late? Why didn't you wake me sooner?"

Malon rolled her eyes and sighed. "Because when I do that, you get mad at me. We have this talk every morning, Father." She was halfway through the door, but her father spoke again.

"So wake me earlier tomorrow, and I promise that I won't complain, Malon!"

"I won't _be_ here tomorrow morning, Father. It's my birthday tomorrow, and Liaku has already asked to spend the day with me. Now if you'll excuse me, I still have chores," she added with a distinct note of irritation. Without listening to his protests, she left his room and closed the door behind her, rather louder than she probably should have done. But no matter, her father would get over it; he always did.

Malon sighed and looked up. Around her, the leaves were beginning to turn colours, as they always did this time of year. With it was the seasonal chore of raking, so she reluctantly fetched a rake and began gathering the leaves on the ground. As she worked, she resumed her humming of the melody her mother had once taught her. Her mind drifted to thoughts of years past, when the memories of her mother were still fresh, but all pictures in her mind had all but faded by now.

"_Epona, Epona… Epona, my dear…_" she sang as she swept. Quietly, a figure approached her from behind as she whispered. "_Don't you feel worried now, for your home is here…_"

* * *

_There was a slight strumming of a guitar behind her as she tried again._

"Epona, Epona… Epona, my dear,_" Malon sang for the third time, but the foal still hid from her. "_Don't you feel worried now, for your home is here. Epona, Epona… Epona, my friend, no one can tell you our love shall end!_" Slowly, the young horse poked its head out from underneath the pile of hay to hear the song, but refused to leave entirely._

"Our bond is much stronger than anyone can know; it can survive anything! It will last much longer than any rain or snow, as long as one of us can sing!_" The little girl's voice rang through the ranch, and a gathering of animals formed around her, all sitting and listening to her song. Epona's eyes were closed; for the first time, she was able to rest with others nearby._

"Epona, Epona… Epona, my pal, even through anything, you're always my gal! Epona, Epona… Epona, my dear, don't you feel worried now! Your home's here!_"_

_The horse's previously quickened breathing slowed, indicating she had fallen asleep. Talon put down his guitar as Malon giggled excitedly. She skipped to the foal and stroked its head. "Good girl, Epona! It's about time you got some rest!"_

_Talon approached the two, and hugged his daughter. "Your mother taught you well," he said, smiling._

"_What happened to her, Father?" Malon asked. She looked back at Epona, sleeping peacefully, and was filled with sadness. "I can't remember her face anymore." When she had been a very young girl, her mother had sung that to her when she was frightened or upset. Her mother had had the sweetest, calmest voice… Since then, Malon adapted it to Epona, and sang it to _her_, instead._

_Talon frowned. "Your mother is gone, dear."_

"_Why, Father? Why is she gone?" Malon turned away from her father, and wiped her eyes on her sleeve._

"_Only the Goddesses can know that, dear. Only they can know that."_

_Malon hugged her father tighter. "I hope Mother comes back soon," she said._

"_Don't worry, Malon dear, I'm sure she still loves us, and will come home soon."_

_Inside, however, he knew that that was not at all likely. His wife had left when Malon had only been five years old. That was four and a half years ago. Despite his hopes, her return was anything but likely. _

_

* * *

_

"_Epona, Epona… Epona, my friend, no one can tell you our love shall end!_" Malon continued quietly, but was startled by a push at the back of her shoulder, and spun around. "Oh, goodness, Epona, don't scare me like that."

The horse rubbed her head against Malon, and stood next to her, expectantly. Her owner, however, frowned, and whispered, "No, you know I can't ride you anymore. Your leg hasn't healed properly!"

Epona didn't like this. With a snort, she turned so that Malon was outside of her field of view, and whenever Malon tried stroking her, Epona would once again turn away or move, preventing Malon from touching her.

Malon rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright," she said, and found a saddle; the rake was altogether forgotten now. "Let's give this a try, shall we?" In an expert fashion, she outfitted the horse with her gear, much to Epona's pleasure. She wrapped an arm around Epona's neck, then gracefully swung one leg over her horse, and took hold of the reins. They were unnecessary, however; Epona went where she wanted, when she wanted. If her destination was different from her rider's intended location, then… too bad.

The horse, now satisfied that she had won the argument, began with a light trot, which slowly progressed into a leisurely jog around the track. This, in turn, developed into a playful run, which culminated with an abrupt collapse, as Epona's injured right front leg gave way.

"Oh no, Epona," Malon shouted, jumping off her horse. "Are you okay, girl?" she asked, worried. Epona whimpered, and Malon hugged her mane. She said, "I'll be right back," and ran to the nearby washroom. _I knew I shouldn't have ridden her_, she thought with frustration. Malon shook her head. Thinking about what should have been, but wasn't, was useless. Malon grabbed some ice cubes, wrapped them in a towel, and hurried back. When she returned, she found Epona struggling to get up, so Malon pressed the towel against the injured leg.

"Don't try to stand; you'll only hurt your leg even more." But the application of a sudden cold to an already sharp pain in her leg caused Epona to kick at Malon.

"Ow! Epona, don't kick me when I'm trying to help you! You know I need to do this." Again, as if she understood what was said, Epona snorted and looked away. Malon pressed the towel to the horse's leg again, and, after a brief twitch, Epona regained her calmness. "You see what happens when we try that?" Malon said, in a mock stern voice. "Trouble happens, that's what!"

"Malon!" shouted a nearby voice, and Malon stopped patting Epona, and removed the icy towel from the horse's leg. "We have guests at the inn!"

"I'm coming, Ingo!" Malon shouted back. "Be right there!"

"I'll just be a few, Epona," she whispered to the horse, who stood up. "Don't be worried." She smiled, and the horse whinnied, returning to the field, albeit with a slight limp. Malon stood up, brushed leaves and twigs off her dress, and skipped to the employee entrance to the inn's lounge room.

Inside, there were three women, each with a different hair colour – red, blue, or green, and a different style. But Malon shrugged; she'd seen more peculiar things than dyed hair. She wore her best smile, bowed, and cheerfully greeted the guests with a bow.

"Welcome! My name is Malon Da, and this is the Lon Lon Ranch Inn!"

The woman with long, flowing blue hair stood up first. "Hi," she said, holding out her hand. "My name's Nayru, and these are my sisters, Farore," she nodded to the smallish girl with a pair of large green pigtails, "and that over there is Din," the woman with red hair tied back in a ponytail, and her face intently poring over her notebook, waved absent-mindedly at Malon. "We're the Oracles, and we would like a place to stay for a few days. We're in town for a little while, and this place was recommended to us by a fellow traveller, so we decided to stop by."

Malon, however, wasn't listening. The fact that the three sisters shared the same names as the Golden Goddesses didn't register. She didn't hear why Nayru had said they were there, and the bulky objects that stuck conspicuously out of their belongings weren't even a blip on her radar.

Instead, all of her attention was focused on the woman with the notebook, and a shockingly familiar tint of red hair. The moment her brain found her mouth, she managed to say, "_Mother_?"

"Excuse me?" said Nayru, her train of thought lost. "To whom are you speaking? Whom do you mean?"

Malon walked out from behind the counter, straight up to the Oracle named Din, and said, "Do you recognize me?"

The Oracle named Din, however, was equally oblivious. She pulled her face out of the notebook and looked at Malon, confused. Malon noticed large, golden earrings and bracelets, as well as higher-end clothing. She certainly wasn't poor, that was for sure. All she said was, "What?"

Farore, deciding that at last, something interesting had happened since they arrived, watched with mild interest.

"I… I know I'm not supposed to act like this to the guests, but I have to know: Have you been here before? Have you ever been to the Lon Lon Ranch before?"

Din thought for a moment, putting her notebook down completely. Malon noted that one side seemed to be full of words; lyrics, most likely, because the other side had musical notes. Finally, the Oracle responded, "Now that you mention it, the name _is_ slightly familiar, but it's been over a decade since any of us have even been in Hyrule, until a few days ago. Why, am I supposed to?"

Malon crossed her arms and tilted her head, confusing Din even further. "No, I don't suppose you are." She returned behind the counter. "My apologies, Nayru, I didn't mean to interrupt. You were talking about… you mentioned that you…" She shook her head, and apologized again. "I guess I wasn't really paying attention," she said.

Nayru smiled, and said, "Don't worry. I said that we would like to stay here for a little while; four, maybe five days."

"Sure thing," Malon said excitedly, and pulled out the Inn's logbook. "We don't get too many visitors around here, so all our rooms are empty at the moment. Do you want individual rooms, or are you staying together?"

"Together, if you could, please, that would be great," Nayru said with a smile.

Malon made another note in the book. "Sure thing," she said again. "Alright, that costs… 84 rupees per night for the three bed suite – or did you want fewer beds?" she added hastily, but Nayru, silently giggling to herself, shook her head. "Right, that's 84 for the three-beds room, number 201. Breakfast is about an hour after sunrise – when the sun clears the first fence-mark in the field, and is included for free. Other meals cost an additional 10 rupees per person per meal. We just got a fresh delivery of vegetables, so lunch today will be vegetable soup. We have lunch when the sun is right above us, and the shadows are right below you.

"I'll show you to your room now; please follow me." She reached underneath the desk and found the room keys, and left the reception counter. "If I may?" Malon asked, offering to carry some of the luggage upstairs, but the offer was declined.

"Thank you," Nayru said, "but some of our equipment is a bit fragile, and it would be a shame if any of it were damaged. It's not that we don't trust you, but rather that we would prefer to carry our belongings ourselves."

Malon bowed, said that she understood, and turned around. "This way to the room," she said, motioning towards the staircase. Nayru carefully picked up her bags, and followed.

Farore stood up, but Din was lost in her thoughts and her notebook again. "Get up, spacewoman, let's go," she said, grabbing her sister by the arm and dragging her along.

"What – what's going on?" Din said, grabbing her knapsack and following Farore's grip.

With a slight grin, Farore responded, "The girl, Miss Da, is taking us to our room."

"I can hear you smirking, Far," Din said with irritation. "And yes, I _do_ recognize my own daughter, thank you very much – you hardly have to give me hints, but I think you already knew that, didn't you?" Farore's chuckle gave away that she was right.

"Over there," Malon pointed to their right, "is the dining room. To the left and… through the wall, is the stable, where the horses eat and sleep sometimes. And these," she pointed beneath them as they began their ascension to the second floor, "are the stairs." Once again, Nayru giggled at Malon's joke.

"Do you say the same things to all of the residents?" she asked, smiling.

Malon shook her head and said, "Oh gosh, no; that would get boring and repetitive for me! I would certainly lose the enthusiasm after a while, don't you think? I have to keep thinking of new things to say to keep you all entertained, now, don't I?" She gave Nayru a wink, and called down to her sisters. "Hey, did you two get lost or something?" _Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen,_ Malon counted to herself, _and sixteen steps_. Even though she was facing Nayru, walking the stairs backwards, she expertly rounded the corner at the end and said, "This way to your room, ladies." At long last, Farore, dragging Din by the arm, appeared on the second floor landing. "Okay, ladies, this is your room, room 201. Here are your keys," she said, handing one to each of the women, and, using her master key, unlocked the room.

"Thank you, miss," Nayru said, bowing as much as her bags would allow her, and she and her sisters carried lugged their luggage into the room.

"I call the window bed!" shouted Farore, leaping onto the far bed. "Oh wow, these are _soft_!"

"Ooh, we even have a washroom!" Din noted as she placed her things on the first unoccupied bed.

Malon giggled, and said, "Yes, I forgot to mention, we have indoor plumbing, as well. Okay, now that you three are settled, if there's anything else you would like, please, ask now; otherwise, I'll be outside if you need me."

"Actually, Malon, there is one thing," said Farore, looking away from the window. Nayru nudged her and shook her head, but Farore whispered, "It wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?" Nayru sighed, and Farore took that as a sign to do so. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, do you think you have any breakfast left? We've been walking for almost a week, coming from our last gig, and didn't exactly have much – well, _anything_ – to eat this morning."

* * *

"Okay, ladies, have a seat, and I'll reheat the water. We always have some extra farina, just in case," Malon said as they entered the dining room. She set a pot to boil, and joined them at the table. "So, if I'm not being too nosy, what brings you three to the kingdom of Hyrule?"

The three ladies glanced at each other, and, surprisingly, Din answered. "I don't know how quickly word spreads around here, but there's a concert for the next few nights over in Hyrule Town."

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that," Malon said. "My friend and I are going to see it tomorrow, too!" she said excitedly.

Farore chuckled, and Nayru said, "No, dear, we're not going to be _watching_; we're actually going to be _in_ the concert! It's _our_ show!"


	9. The Activation of the Keys

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000

Chapter Nine: The Activation of the Keys

"Wait, _what_?" shouted Darunia, finally speaking. "How did he see the destruction of Hyrule when he's been in here for longer than we have?"

Hyre unbuckled the clasp and removed the sword and its case from his back, and laid it on the ground, so that everyone could see the engraving on the casing. He closed his eyes and ran his finger down the spine of the sheath, and sighed.

"This writing here is, as I'm sure you've noticed, Madam Impa, different from the modern language which we speak here. Its characters share a similar ancestor, but that isn't important. In the tongue of my homeland, it merely says the sword's name, _Azurewrath_. It is customary from whence I come to engrave the name of the sword upon its sheath, so that if one defeats another in battle and takes the enemy's weapon, those who challenge the victor can know whom their enemy has bested in combat."

"Great, but what does that have to do with anything?" Nabooru asked; her impatience was much less well-hidden than Impa's.

Hyre unsheathed the sword and took a few steps backwards. Its cool blue aura cast a glow on the Sages, and Saria and Ruto gasped at its beauty. Nabooru and Darunia simply stared, awe-struck. "This is _Azurewrath_, my sword. To be perfectly honest, I'm not quite sure why it has its glow, but it's certainly a nice touch, I think. It was crafted of powerful magic; a pure, unfiltered anguish which strikes a direct terror in the heart of anyone who is unfortunate enough to touch it.

"The metal, by itself, is nothing special – the _Biggoron Sword_ would easily overpower it in a display of sheer force of muscle, but that is not where _Azurewrath_'s power lies. Instead, its strength comes from the magic – the terror. On contact, it takes control of the mind and shows the victim only the truth, untarnished and whole. It then corrupts what a person holds dearest, holds closest to their heart. And the whole time, the victim feels it – the pain, the suffering, and the _wrath_ caused by that which we hold dearest.

"That is why it has its name – 'Azure' from its colour, and 'wrath' from it power." Beside him, Rauru began silently weeping again, as he remembered the suffering he felt as the sword worked its power.

"Isn't it simply a vision, though?" Impa was determined to find something wrong with his monologues so that she could retaliate. "He saw the destruction of Hyrule, but that hasn't happened!"

"No," Hyre said, shaking his head. "As I mentioned, it shows only the truth, even if its events are in the future. That's why it's such a powerful weapon against evil – it shows them that, given enough time, they _will_ fall. In the end, even the strongest warriors suffer. In the end, even the most fortified structures crumble. In the end, nothing is forever."

The full effect of Hyre's words hung around them, slowly being absorbed. With a scrape and a click, Hyre returned the sword to his shoulder, and waited patiently for someone to speak. All that was heard was the faint sound of breathing and Rauru's muffled crying.

Moments became minutes that passed in silence as each of the Sages waited for somebody else to speak first, to break the tension. At last, Saria cleared her throat, and ignored Ruto elbowing her head to keep quiet. As one, everybody turned to the nervous Saria.

"What next?" she asked, dumbly, and received a full-on smack in return. "Ow, Ruto, that hurt!" she said, rubbing her shoulder.

Hyre looked around him. The Sanctuary of Shadow, while potentially homily to Impa, only had one object of significant interest to Hyre, and it was broken. Returning his look to Saria, he said, "There's nothing any of us can do here," he said. "I believe that the key to preventing Rauru's foreseen disaster lies in finding Link, the Hero of Time, and rescuing him from whatever fate has befallen him. It's time we leave," he announced. "We mustn't delay ourselves further.

"I doubt that many of you will choose to return here, and such a desire is understandable. I ask you all to go, back to your own rooms, and gather your things – whatever you want to bring with you. As long as you can carry it, you may bring it. But do not let it slow you down; the longer we delay the less chance we have of finding Link alive and preventing the flood. We will leave when everyone is ready. Go!"

Saria and Ruto made for the portal, but Impa appeared in front of them, blocking it. "Stop," she said. "Nobody's going anywhere." On her command, Ruto and Saria froze mid-stride, in an almost comical fashion. Nabooru looked at her, wearing an expression of mild interest. "I won't let any of you needlessly endanger yourselves," she said, looking at Saria. "Not without a plan."

"Well then," Hyre said, approaching Impa, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, as I came unequipped with one of –"

"You mean _you_ don't even know what you're doing? And you expect _us_ to blindly follow you into the path of danger?" Impa blinked. Of all of the responses she had been expecting, this was certainly not the highest.

Nabooru raised an eyebrow, and asked, smirking, "Wait, you _are_ trying to help, right?"

Hyre rubbed his face in agitation and disguised thought. "Let me try and explain this more helpfully: no, I don't have a specific plan to locate the young man. Any plan I can devise requires contacts with the kingdom's major cities. And, as I have demonstrated firsthand, a lone-man's search for a hidden boy in a kingdom as large as this is as silly as it is fruitless. But that doesn't mean I am without ideas – I am, after all, here for a reason. The six of you can act as ambassadors to your people. Somebody, somewhere, is bound to have something helpful for us, but to go alone and demand information would be foolhardy. So no, while I do not have a battle-plan, I have an idea of what to do. Is that good enough for you, Madam Impa?" Despite the Sage of Shadow's anger and frustration, Hyre kept his tone completely in check, and, to Impa's further agitation, continued addressing her as 'Madam'.

Impa sighed. It was becoming clear that, despite the man's inability to give a straight answer without repeated prompting, Hyre did in fact have good intentions. If they _were_ being led to their deaths, she thought grimly, it certainly wasn't his plan. "I suppose that, for now, at least, your plan – or lack thereof – won't get us all killed." With that, she waved her hand, and Saria and Ruto, both of whom had been trying to keep themselves balanced mid-stride for two minutes, resumed their run to the portal, and shimmered out of view. Darunia and Nabooru cautiously followed suit.

"Get up, Rauru," the man said, aiding the aging sage to his feet. "It's time for one last adventure, isn't it?" Rauru nodded without thinking, and he hobbled onto the pedestal and vanished, too.

_Finally_, Impa thought, _I can ask him without their prying ears…_ She turned to speak, but found the man, barely an inch taller, standing a foot away.

"Madam, I do not know what your issue with me is, nor does it really matter in the grand scheme of things – I probably can't help it, either, so I don't ask that you leave your anger behind. I only ask that you keep it in check; ill feelings toward your companions will prove detrimental in the end."

_If only you knew,_ she thought to herself. She watched as Hyre walked around her, until finally, curiosity got the better of her, and she had to ask, "Are you one of us?" Hyre stopped, but didn't face her. He remained silent, so Impa finished, "Are you a Sheikah?"

Hyre stood silently for a moment, before replying, "Not quite."

"Then what are you?" Impa called after him, but he had already disappeared. "What is that even supposed to mean?!"

She turned around in resignation, and looked at her belongings. _What do I have here that I could possibly want to bring along?_ Her only remotely valuable, or even sentimental, possession was the pendant, and that was –

_The pendant,_ she thought excitedly, picking one of the halves up from the nightstand.

As usual, it was silent, pretending as though it were an ordinary pendant, when it previously made itself clear that it was something else, something more. But unlike both prior times shortly after it enchanted her with its music, she was not wondering what it signified; instead, she was focused on the memories that it invoked.

Impa recalled the events of the morning, before the true madness began, and remembered her thoughts. She filled her mind with the memories of the circumstances surrounding the first day she heard its music. It was many years ago; Impa had been but a teenager at the time, but, like today, she would never forget it; miraculously, the Hyrule's long-standing civil war finally ended that day. But again, she did not focus on the usual; instead, she geared her memories towards the unusual man she'd seen.

Time had warped her initially unclear image of him, but as Impa thought back upon that morning, she felt that the man now seemed… vaguely familiar to her. Perhaps it was nothing; she could simply be projecting Hyre's image onto another, equally bizarre person, but it seemed very coincidental how both of them appeared on the same day that she heard the song.

But that was over, now. The pendant had smashed, and its song was lost. Impa shook her head and cleared her mind. _Packing_, she thought, and she reorganized herself accordingly. Reluctant though she was to trust the stranger, she knew that her first priority as a Sheikah was the protection of the Royal Family of Hyrule and its kingdom. She came last.

Her wardrobe was simple, organized… _efficient_. A sense of fashion had never been one of her strong suits, and what little knack she'd had as a teenager quickly faded to obscurity with age and training. As a result, her choice of garments was sorely limited. But today there were fewer than usual, and Impa frowned. _Oh, that's right,_ she thought, as she was met with the sound of a _whoosh_ behind her and the fresh scent of soap. She turned around and took her clothes from the basket Ruto held with a "Thank you." _It's laundry day_…

"Hey, Impa, where'd he go?" Ruto asked, looking around.

With a sigh, Impa carefully laid her clothes on her bed as she answered, "He went into the Chamber to wait."

Ruto looked at the portal, and muttered to herself, "Well, he isn't there now…"

She turned around to leave, but Impa stopped her. "Ruto – hey, Ruto, wait a second," she said, reaching out for a hold of the girl's forearm – and missing – to prevent her from leaving.

"Ow, that's my fin!" Ruto yelped, dropping the basket to smack Impa's hand. "I bet _you_ wouldn't like me crumpling one of _your_ important extremities, would you?"

"Sorry, Ruto," Impa said distractedly, "It's just – There's just – When did _this_ get here?" she managed to say.

Ruto flattened her fin against her arm, muttered, "overreaction, much?", and watched in bemusement as Impa pulled a long dress from a large violet box inside the wardrobe. The dress was equally violet, and it gracefully flowed from the container from which it was being pulled. Upon the chest, her six-pointed star, an exact replica of the insignia on the Shadow Pedestal, was embroidered in a fine gold thread. Ruto allowed a momentary grin to pass over her face before she put on her most convincing 'what else is new' expression, and said, "Oh, that. Yeah, Saria made those for us about two years ago." She turned around and headed towards the portal.

Impa gazed in mild disbelief at the dress she was holding. "But – but this would probably fit me…"

Ruto gave a light chuckle, and said, "That's the point, right?" and left the Sanctuary.

It certainly was beautiful, there was no question about that in Impa's mind, but she quickly realized that she'd let herself get distracted again, and returned to packing. She refolded the dress and replaced it within the box, and, after a short pause, began putting the rest of her clothing into the box, as well, as tightly as possible, so that she could put her other belongings in, too. However, as she quickly realized, there was little else here she owned; they had the few items they'd brought, and the fewer items they'd made.

_It would be a shame to leave it here_, she thought, looking at the two halves of the now-broken pendant. Impa refitted the pieces together, and looked at its image, engraved upon it centuries – if not millennia – ago. The Watchful Iris, as it was called, with its three eyelashes, symbolizing Wisdom, Power, and Courage, respectively, was cracked through its centre. The slip of yellowed parchment lay tightly wedged in the small crevice in the larger half.

With one last sigh, she carefully placed the already-broken heirloom into the clothing box, closed the top, picked it up, and left. Behind her, the amethyst crystal twinkled in the glow of the portal.

* * *

"Mumble, mumble, 'pick the vegetables'… Mumble, mumble, 'tomatoes aren't veggies'… Mumble, mumble, 'that wasn't funny'," Nabooru muttered to herself. "_You_ aren't funny, Imp!" she shouted at the wall as she practiced her left hook. A whooshing noise startled her, and in one fluid motion, she drew her sabre and whirled it at the source of the disturbance. However, as she realized again, not even a perfectly-aimed sword toss is a match for a tidal wave, and yelped as the wave of water crashed upon her head.

"Damnit, Ruto, I'm sorry!" she said as the water drained around her and reshaped itself into the disgruntled Zora princess. "But just because you've figured out how to morph into a monsoon doesn't mean you actually _have_ to _every week_!" She shook her hands to dry off the remaining droplets. Ruto handed the sword back, and Nabooru took it with a very unenthusiastic expression on her face.

"How long will it take for you to realize that I'm only bringing your laundry? Yeah, I've figured out that you can't skewer me the moment I come in if I'm water!"

Nabooru, sensing defeat, changed the subject. "Anyway, what are you bringing with you?" she asked hastily.

Ruto put a thoughtful finger to her lips and looked up. "What? Oh, I was thinking that I could bring some of my fish friends," she said after a moment. "But I'd need to bring a tank for them, and water is _heavy_!" Nabooru caught herself before she smacked the girl in frustration. "I have to bring lots of clothes, because what's a gal without clothing? And those dresses are still gorgeous; I don't know how Newt did it…"

"Wait, 'dress_es_?'" Nabooru asked, confused. "As in, more than one, you mean?" But Ruto was already past clothing in her mental list.

"…jewellery, too, of course… those earrings would be _perfect_ for my wedding. Oh, yeah, and I'm bringing a lot of fruit, because we could be walking for a few weeks, and I don't want to starve, do you?"

_Okay, she's lost it_, Nabooru thought dryly, rolling her eyes. Taking her laundry from the abandoned basket behind Ruto, she patiently stuffed the clothes into her rucksack while Ruto continued her rambling. "Mumble, mumble, they're all crazy," she muttered.

"…when you mumble, you know. What was that last one, again – oh yeah, and soap."

Nabooru looked up in surprise, and asked, "What was that last one, again?"

"Soap," Ruto said again, "it's such a precious commodity; I don't know how I could live without things being clean."

"No, not the soap, the one before it – you said something about mumbling?"

"Sham—oh, that," Ruto said, rolling her eyes. "I said, 'You aren't supposed to actually say "mumble" when you mumble, you know.' I heard you muttering to yourself, and decided to comment on it," she said with a wink. "So what's in the knapsack?" Ruto asked, nodding towards the bed.

Nabooru grunted, and said, "It's not a 'knapsack', it's a rucksack—but whatever; the point is that it's none of your business."

Ruto eyed the 'rucksack' with intrigue, and noted how aside from a slightly bulky box at the bottom, there appeared to be little, if any, else in it. Curiosity getting the better of her, she asked, "You're only taking _that_? Are you sure you're not going to need anything else?"

"A Gerudo warrior is trained to travel lightly," Nabooru retorted. "And besides, aren't you bringing enough supplies for everyone?"

Ruto snapped back, saying, "And what if something happens to me while we're out there? What're you going to do if I suddenly, I don't know, vanish, or get… or if I'm eaten by some monster, or something? What's going to happen then?" She took a small, threatening step towards Nabooru.

"Then be a responsible little girl and leave the supplies behind if you wander off! Or, instead, just don't wander!" Slowly, Nabooru, too, closed the gap between them.

"And what do we do if my supply of food suddenly goes bad?" Ruto asked, stepping forward again.

"Then I guess we're having _fillet of Zora_ for dinner!" Nabooru shouted, and the two women growled angrily at one another. They stood just face to face now, and the tension built. A whooshing noise interrupted their contest, and Nabooru instinctively drew her sabre again and hurled it at the portal. Ruto, too, reacted, turning into the usual monsoon. There was a squeal, followed by a sudden _thud_ and splash, indicating that their assaults hit, but it took the moment for Ruto to reform to realize just what it _had_ hit.

Ruto looked at Nabooru, who nodded in agreement. "Saria," they both said together, looking at the large oak tree that had formed in front of them. A few cracking noises later, and the giant tree sank back into the ground, revealing Saria, arms crossed in defence, behind it.

"What was _that_?!" Saria shouted, peeking out from behind her arms. "I just wanted to give something back!"

Ruto pointed at Nabooru, and said, "Offensive reaction," and then she pointed to herself, and said, "Defensive reaction." Nabooru punched Ruto in the shoulder.

Saria shook her head, and pulled out a small pocket knife, which she handed to Nabooru. "Thanks for letting me borrow that, Nab," she said, and turned to Ruto. "Well, now that I've found you, are you coming, Ruto?" She picked up the sabre, which had clunked to the floor when the tree disappeared, and handed it back to Nabooru, too.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes," Ruto said, picking up the laundry basket and shooting a dirty look at Nabooru. "I've got to give back Rauru and Darunia their stuff, and I'll be there right after, okay?"

"That's alright with me," Saria said, and she and Ruto stepped onto the portal and were taken to the Sacred Chamber, leaving Nabooru, cross-armed, behind them. Saria turned to her friend and said, "Just don't take too long, okay?" and walked back to her pedestal, avoiding Hyre and Impa, who were standing silently in the way.

_Oh, well, NOW you're here_, Ruto thought to herself, as she carried the basket of clothing to Darunia's room. Hyre was looking around curiously, as though he was enjoying the sights, and Impa was pointedly staring at the distant 'walls' with her back toward him. Ruto giggled and entered the Sanctuary of Fire, where she found Darunia sitting at a desk, and was greeted with the customary blast of hot air and what could only be attributed to the natural Goron odour.

The usual _whoosh_ signalled her arrival, and Darunia made sure to wipe his desk and face before he turned around. "Ah, there you are," he said, with a slight waver in his voice, which Ruto pretended not to notice. "I was beginning to wonder what had happened to you…"

The stone floor beneath her feet trapped heat throughout the day, and by now, it was scalding hot; as she walked, Ruto produced a layer of water beneath her as to not burn herself.

"Sorry," Ruto said, putting the basket on the bed and unloading Darunia's laundered clothes. "Nabooru and her antics slowed me down again." The Sage of Fire, however, was not his usual enthusiastic self. Ruto walked over to the Goron leader and asked, "Is something wrong, big guy?"

Darunia stood up, said "Nothing," and walked away from her. He loudly clunked over to his bed, took his clothes, and added them as padding to a large hollowed stone basin. A few moments passed, during which Ruto made to leave, before he amended his statement, saying, "My son, Link… he was six when I… when we awoke as sages… He will be nine years old now, but I wonder… Will he still remember his father?"

Ruto turned around and looked at the man. In the three years they had gotten to know each other, he had spoken about all of the wonderful things that he and his son had done together, all of the bomb flowers they grew, what kinds of rocks he liked to eat, what they would do together when he returned; all stuff that bored Ruto mindless. But now, for the first time she had seen, Darunia seemed – and was, judging by his statement – _sad_.

Ruto sat down on the bed, which was fortunately much cooler than the floor, found something fascinating on her hands, and answered. "When I was… when I was about five, my mother… I stopped seeing my mother – she just stopped being there at night, or at mealtimes, or whatever. I would ask Father where she had gone, and he would tell me that she was on vacation, or that she was travelling the world, or visiting our friends in Termina… all of these excuses." She paused for a moment, closed her eyes, and smiled. "I remember writing all these letters and asking Father to send them to her, and I always asked when she would be coming home." Ruto laughed slightly, and continued, "My writing was _awful_, but I _kept_ writing, because I wanted Mother to know that I missed her.

"It wasn't until I was, I think, eight or nine, when I found where my father had hidden the letters that I wrote when he finally told me what actually happened to her." Ruto found a more interesting spot on her hands, just below a knuckle, and started fidgeting with it, instead. Her voice, however, was strong, steady, and focused, as she spoke. "It turns out she died tending to the Water Temple. M—Morpha got loose and my mom tried to go contain her." She smiled and looked at Darunia again, who was slightly surprised to see happiness showing on her face after such a recollection.

"How she died isn't important, though; what matters is how I felt, as that's what I'm trying to say by all of this. Before I found out what had happened, yeah, I was a bit frustrated by my mom not responding, but the whole time, I always loved her, and I made sure to mention that every week – I wrote 'to' her once or twice a week. Even though I hadn't seen her for like two and a half years, and I didn't even know where she was, I still loved her. So yeah, your son, Link, will still remember you, his father, and will still love you."

After a moment, Darunia managed a smile, and thanked Ruto. "I may be a Goron warrior, but I am also a father. Just don't tell anyone of my worry, okay?" He winked at Ruto, scooped up the basin into his arms, and said, "Let's go."

Ruto stood up and picked up her basket. "I have two more stops to make, then I'll get my stuff from my room, and we'll go." She smiled at Darunia, and stepped through the portal after him. The big Goron's thundering footsteps alerted the three already waiting for his arrival. Ruto passed by Saria's green pedestal, as well as the two unlit platforms, and muttered to herself, _now what?_ She stepped into the Sanctuary of Light, accompanied by the usual yellow sparkling and tingling sensation.

Rauru's room felt more like a citadel than a Sanctuary; the walls seemed dozens of feet high, and _everything_ shimmered in the sunlight, which streamed in from equally tall windows. In the centre of the room, Rauru paced, muttering to himself, with his bald head and long, white beard gleaming in the flood of light.

"Hiya, Rauru," Ruto said in a friendly voice. "Are you feeling better? You seemed… unusually stressed and anxious earlier; is everything okay?"

Rauru looked up, took a deep breath, and spoke slowly. "I _am_ feeling better; thank you for your concern – and for my laundry, I might add," he said, as Ruto handed it to him. "Thank you for always lending a helping hand… I never said it enough, so now that I have the chance, I must thank you immensely."

Ruto tilted her head and raised an eyebrow – or rather, a scale above her left eye that functioned similarly to an eyebrow. "You make it sound like I'm leaving."

"Not you, my dear… not you…" Rauru looked sadly at the topaz crystal on his nightstand, and then back at the Zora princess. As he turned, the sunlight, whose source was rapidly rising in the 'sky' outside, bounced off Rauru's head and into Ruto's face; she moved slightly to escape the bright beam. Rauru was now facing one of the magnificent windows, with his back to the Sage of Water as he spoke.

"I must apologize, Ruto… I have been here for many, many years more than you have yourself. I do not have the same luxuries to which I may return as the rest of you might. In fact, I'm afraid that I would have little, if any, to which I can return." A few seconds passed in silence, before Rauru seemed to snap back into focus; the depressed air about him seemed to vanish, and he turned back to Ruto with a smile on his face. "Don't let my baggage sadden you, my dear; this is not goodbye forever. I have no doubts that we shall cross paths again in the near future. Go, finish your preparations; the longer you stay here talking to this old man, the less time you have to rescue your friend."

Ruto made to protest, but Rauru interrupted with a chuckle, and said, "Don't worry, I'll finish up in here and meet the six of you out there momentarily. Don't think I'd let you all leave without a proper goodbye first!"

With that, he waved Ruto out, who awkwardly said, "Alright, then, I'll see you soon…" She turned around and walked to the portal, and, behind her, she heard Rauru resume his muttering.

There were four of them waiting, now; the eagerness the Sages shared was obvious, and spread to Ruto herself, too, as she walked around the edge of the dulled ivy-green seal between Rauru's and Saria's seals. She looked in Hyre's direction, but he wasn't facing her; he was looking at the greyish step off to the side with apparent fascination. Ruto rolled her eyes, and with the usual _whoosh_, arrived in the lush Sanctuary of Forest.

"Sorry I'm late, Newt," Ruto apologized, "you wouldn't _believe_ the things they tell me…"

"Yes – well, in your absence, I've pretty much gathered everything I'm taking," Saria said, taking her Kokiri robes from the bottom of the now-empty basket. Ruto frowned, slightly disappointed, and began apologizing again, but Saria cut her off. "Don't worry about it, Iketh; it's not like hurrying would have made much of a difference. I started packing stuff as soon as I got back from Impa's place…" She placed the robes neatly inside a backpack that seemed altogether too small to hold her belongings.

"Newt, are you sure that that's all your bringing?" Ruto asked, looking around the room. It _was_ much emptier than it had been that morning, she noted.

"Nope, this is all I'm bringing," Saria said, and slung the back over her shoulder.

Ruto picked up her basket, tilted her head, and walked out of the room, with Saria right behind her. "It looks a bit small, doesn't it? How'd you fit everything in there?"

"Like me, it's bigger on the inside!" Saria declared proudly, head high and eyes closed. She waited a moment before slowly opening an eye and looking at Ruto, who shrugged, and Saria giggled, saying "Nah, I just pack really well."

"I'll be right back," Ruto said as she gave Saria a friendly one-armed hug, and hurried past the other Sages, who were beginning to gather around Hyre.

Ruto entered the Sanctuary of Water, and paused. The light passing through the water outside the windows shimmered around her, and Ruto let it soak in. "I guess… I guess this is goodbye, then," she said, looking around. None of the fish were by the windows, though, so her goodbye went unnoticed – until Ruto realized that the fish would neither hear nor understand what she'd said, anyway, at which point she took a deep breath and walked to her bed. There, she'd laid out a towel with all of her possessions and supplies on it, and carefully picked it up and placed it inside the large laundry basket. She made sure it wouldn't break from the weight, then picked it up completely, and, with another "goodbye," _whoosh_ed into the Sacred Chamber.

* * *

"Are you sure you wish to remain, Rauru?" Hyre asked, putting a comforting arm on the Sage of Light's shoulder. Rauru could feel the caring in his red eyes.

"Yes, stranger, I am sure." He looked away from Hyre and at the other Sages, each holding his or her treasures. "It will be lonely again without them here, but I have survived it before; I can do it again. I will be more useful to you from here than I could ever be back in Hyrule."

"But what am I to do about the Leviathans? It is said that your people hold near eternal grudges – I do not wish to intrude on their privacy. You are an integral part of granting me access to the Light Temple, and, of course, to speaking with Melzod."

Rauru raised an eyebrow, and asked cautiously, "How do you know about Melzod?"

"I'm thorough," said Hyre.

The Sage of Light spread his arms wide and looked up to the distant ceiling. A single beam of golden light shone down between them, and, in it, a shining yellow object floated calmly down. Rauru breached the barrier of the light and grasped the disc, and the light vanished.

"Take this," he said, holding the golden object out to Hyre. "This medallion shall be proof enough to the Leviathans – and to Melzod – that I have sent you. You shall always be welcome in my city." His face broke into a wide smile as he spoke.

Hyre stepped forward to the Sage, took the medallion, and gave Rauru a large, friendly hug. "Goodbye, old friend, and thank you," he whispered. In his fist, the medallion shone with its own light, and felt warm to his skin; Rauru, however, had his focus elsewhere, and broke the embrace.

"Excuse me?" Rauru asked as the stranger turned away. "What do you mean by 'old friend'? I don't remember you from before…"

The man stopped, but didn't turn around. "Perhaps it is better that way," he said. Then, he said, speaking to the rest of the Sages, "Let's go."

But none of them moved, save Ruto, who turned away. Saria was the first to react, and she stepped forward, quietly asking, "You're not coming with us, Rauru?"

Hyre stopped again and dropped his head, and Ruto shifted uncomfortably. Rauru smiled, and beckoned for Saria to come closer, which she did. He gave the Forest Sage a small hug, and spoke to everyone, saying, "As I have already said to Ruto, I am an old man, and I've been here for a very long time before your arrivals. The only reason you remained here is that you believed there to be no escape; I feel that you would all be equally capable of performing your duties as the Sages back home. But I have been from my friends and family for so long that those who would remember me either are dead or believe me to be a traitor, as, unlike you, I had no warning before my arrival." Rauru looked down at Saria, who wiped a tear away from her eye. "Do not worry, my dear Saria," he said, smiling at her. "This is not the last time we shall be seeing one another. You, of all people, have taught me that there is a plethora of ways for friends – for that is how I think of you – to communicate from afar."

He gave Saria a friendly nudge to return to the others, and said, "Now go, find Link, rescue him from whatever perils he faces, and know that I will be watching you from here!"

There was a flurry of goodbyes, followed by the occasional hug. Then, one by one, the Sages stepped on to the Triforce symbol in the centre of the chamber, and one by one, they vanished. With a _whoosh_, the fresh garden air rushed around them as they arrived in the Garden of Tranquillity.

Hyre was the last to enter, and everyone watched him intently, painfully curious as to how he would open the doors that resisted all prior attempts. They watched closely as he closed his eyes and spread his arms out. They watched excitedly as he raised his head to the sky and smiled. And they watched disappointedly as nothing happened.

"What are you doing?" asked an impatient Nabooru.

The man lowered his arms and head, looked at Nabooru, and answered, "I will never cease to be amazed by what can be accomplished by so few people in such a short time." Sensing that this was not the answer they were hoping to hear, Hyre added, "Never mind that; I can marvel at these wonders another time," he said, and led the five Sages to the Doors of Time. Once they reached it, the march ended abruptly.

"How do we open it?" Darunia asked, stating the obvious question on everyone's mind.

Hyre gave a slight smile, and answered with his own question, "How does one open any locked door, Master Darunia?"

Nabooru answered, "But there's no keyhole."

"Just because _you_ pick locks doesn't mean that's how we all open locked doors!" Ruto shouted angrily.

"You imbecile," Nabooru said, "that's not what I meant! If there's no keyhole, then a key can't open the door."

Ruto crossed her arms angrily, and Hyre watched in mild amusement. "That's true, Nabooru," he said, "but keys can come in all shapes and sizes… or forms, for that matter."

Hyre approached the doors, placed his right hand upon one of them, and Saria and Ruto gazed in awe as the stranger was enveloped in a dark violet aura. Darunia looked at Hyre with a frown on his face, and Nabooru was focused on Impa, whom she started poking.

"Ow, Nabooru, will you stop that?" she said, swatting the offending hand away, and noticed what had caught Nabooru's attention. "W…why am _I_ glowing, too?" she asked, with slightly less stability in her voice than she would have liked. Ruto turned to look at her, and Saria tore her eyes away from the stranger to see, as well.

"Because you're connected to it, too," Hyre said, without turning. "Both of us have a connection to this place. As I mentioned before, it was your mistake not to try and open the door." Hyre resumed his silence, holding his hand in its place on the door, eyes closed, as though he were meditating.

Darunia's frown turned into a scowl, as he realized what the problem was. "Wait a moment," he said slowly, and Hyre turned to look at the Goron man. "What do you mean, 'too'? You said yourself that you're a wanderer, so how can _you_ be connected to… whatever this place is? Are _you_ a key, too?"

Hyre's face froze for a moment in a strange expression, but only Impa saw it for what it really was, and it intrigued her. After a second, however, Hyre reached a hand into one of his cloak's many pockets, and pulled out a large crystalline black object, inset in a wooden base, which he held out to show to Darunia. "No, I'm not a key," he said, looking at the object, which, too, had a dark aura surrounding it. "This is, though – it's an onyx stone. It came from here a long time ago; that's its connection." The man turned around again, and placed the base against the door, and the closed his eyes again. Once again, Impa made note of something that, on top of the unlikelihood of the situation they were in _happening_, confused her.

Moments later, the double doors, which had remained firmly inactive for three years, was engulfed by the same violet light which shone from Hyre and Impa, and the five Sages took a step back.

"There we go!" Hyre said. There was a click, followed by a swish, and Hyre stepped back, returning the stone inside his cloak. The auras around the doors, the stone, and the two people disappeared, and a bright, white light cracked through the wall. As if in slow motion, the Sages watched as, after three long years of imprisonment in the Sacred Realm, the Doors of Time finally swung inwards, open.

The expressions of shock and joy were identical on the faces of everyone, save Hyre, who looked extremely pleased with something. Even Impa's usual distrust of the stranger was put on hold as the light engulfed them. Slowly, their eyes adjusted to the light, and the inside of the Temple of Time revealed itself to them.

"Hey, that's –" Ruto said, and rushed through the doorway, despite Impa's protests. When nothing happened to her, Darunia quickly joined her side, too, fascinated by something. "It _is_!" Ruto shouted, and touched her gemstone. There was a plaque on the steps on the other side of the doors, and, floating on top of it were three stones – the blue Zora's Sapphire, the red Goron's Ruby, and the green Kokiri's Emerald.

"It's safe," Hyre said, and Saria and Nabooru exited into the Temple, as well. Hyre gestured to Impa with a slight bow, and said, "After you," and with no excuse, she, too, crossed the threshold between the Sacred Realm and her homeland.

At last, Hyre stepped back into the Temple of Time, and behind him, he heard what sounded like a low snarl of anger as the door slammed shut.


	10. The Dregs of the Dungeons

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000 (Gabriel B.)

Chapter Ten: The Dregs of the Dungeons

"Alright, I'll come get you when the sky starts getting lighter. See you tomorrow, Mal!"

Liaku's kind smile turned into a beaming grin as he turned around, wheelbarrow in tow. As soon as he was completely out of view of Malon, he added a little skip to his step, which almost overturned the produce. _Maybe I should be a bit more careful, at least until I get back_, he thought to himself with a chuckle.

It was a long walk from the Lon Lon Ranch to his next stop, the Talking Horse Inn and Pub in Hyrule Castle Town; an hour and a half's walk, with wheelbarrow, but six years of conditioning got a fellow used to such empty stretches. Setting his mind to autopilot, he passed the time thinking up poems to say to Malon tomorrow. "Girls love that romantic creative stuff, right?" he asked of himself, half-hoping that someone would appear and answer his question...

And so he thought, trading words, counting syllables, and grasping for rhymes for ten minutes, after which he believe he'd written at least a halfway-decent limerick. "You radiate shimmering beauty," he practiced. "As such, 'tis my most humble duty, to say, 'from your pal: happy birthday, Mal!'" Liaku paused his recital, hoping that he could come up with a better last line, but nothing better came to mind. "I just hope this wasn't too fruity…"

_Damn 'beauty'_, he thought angrily, _only rhymes with 'duty', 'fruity', and 'amputee'…_ Liaku dropped his head and once again lost himself thinking of something else to say. _Perhaps a song might be appropriate_, he thought, only to realize that _they were going to a concert_, so he would only end up making himself look like the fool who can't sing that he was. He resumed his deep thoughts as he stared at the ground ahead of him.

_Oh, hey_, he though, as he watched the familiar path pass by, _it hasn't rained here in a while_. Skipping half a step, he wondered mindlessly if he could match up his footsteps with the footprints he left the previous week. He was surprised to discover that it was actually rather more difficult than he had expected, and quickly decided to stop. _I could always show her my book_, he thought, resuming his internal debate as to how to treat Malon on her birthday. _I'll be damned if I finish it by tomorrow, though_…

In times of boredom, Liaku was thankful that he had something as engaging as his murder mystery work-in-progress, _Knight of the Dozen Mournings_, onto which his mind could settle. It still lacked an ending – while Detective Liam and his partner Kara had identified the treacherous Hylian Knight directly responsible for the murders, he continued to elude them. But, as Liaku had been sure to mention early on in the work, there were signs of indented heel marks in the ground near four of the victim's houses – granted, they were outside the _women_'s houses, but they all strangely indicated similar weight, when the women themselves were not. And now that Liam was beginning to run out of ideas as to how to find where the man was hiding, for he had long ago abandoned his home and job, Liam would soon be returning to the evidence, to see if he had overlooked something.

That something would be the heel-marks of high-heeled shoes in the ground in the pictobox pictures, curiously the same in each of the instances where it showed – and a second set of regular shoeprints around the houses where the victim was male. Thus, the realization that the murderer had an accomplice would strike Liam, and he and Kara would then begin the search for _her_ – or possibly 'him', as Liaku had yet to decide on that particular point – because she would lead the duo straight to the killer.

This scenario wasn't without its flaws, Liaku realized, but he would work them out when he got down to writing it. In his mind, he played out the exchange between Liam and Kara, deciding on the finer points of the realization, and only noticed that he was almost at the market when a couple of voices ahead snapped him out of his trance.

_What are people doing out here?_ Liaku wondered to himself, and tried not to disturb them. He'd been taking the same route for five of the six years, and had never seen nor heard anybody except for the silent Gerudos this far from a major settlement – the panic that Gannondorf would suddenly return and kill anyone in his path was still widespread, even three years later. Nevertheless, his curiosity got the better of him and he quieted himself, and his wheelbarrow, so that he could hear the conversation. There was some sort of commotion, but at first, he was too far away to make out what they were saying; he was, though, soon able to discern multiple voices, and then distinct words. Liaku could make out three separate voices, but it was certainly possible that there were more. And they were arguing, as if one of them was mad at the others for something.

"He knows already," said an out-of-breath, female voice. Liaku heard her trying to control her obviously hyperactive breathing.

"Are you sure that's what it was?" said a worried, strangely deep voice.

After a pause: "Y–yes," said the breathy, now cool, but also shaken, woman. "It's pretty hard to confuse something like that."

"I wouldn't know," said the second voice, after he seemed to regain some of his composure; at the very least, his voice was wavering less than it had been. Liaku crept forward and listened as another voice chimed in.

"It's _water_," said the third person, sounding impatient.

"Yes, well, if this is true," said the deep-voiced, presumably male, person, "then I have to go stop it. But why was it me?"

"I don't know," said the cool voice, having regained its stability.

Liaku amused the momentary thought that he had just overheard some sort of assassination plot, or that if he followed them, he would be led to a secret lair of some kind. Maybe, if he was really lucky, it was even a very important event in a large mystery. However, as he realized, unfortunate as reality was, it was rarely ever that elaborate; someone probably just pushed the guy into the nearby river, and he was overreacting. And so, resigning himself to his work once again, he picked up the handlebars of the wheelbarrow, and almost walked into the woman standing in front of him. Behind her were two others, each with a different bizarre colour and style of hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, bowing his head and turning to avoid almost bumping into the trio again.

"I told you he was out of it," said the shortest of the three, wearing a green shirt and shorts.

"Excuse me sir," the woman in front said again, and Liaku recognized the cool voice from earlier, and he looked at her with an expression that he hoped didn't tell them that he'd just been eavesdropping on them. "I don't suppose you could tell us how to get to the..." She looked at the girl in green again before finishing, "'Lon Lon Ranch', could you?"

"Oh, umm," he stammered, before realizing what the question was. "Yeah – I mean yes, I would." He turned around, and realized again that that part of Hyrule Field was particularly dense with trees, so instead pointed the way he'd come, and said, "It's, uh, about an hour that way; maybe more with your stuff." Liaku paused to try to think of a more helpful description, and said, "If you follow my and my wheelbarrow's tracks for ten or so minutes, the trees should begin to thin out, and you'll be able to see it. The ranch is the big structure on top of the hill." He waved his hands in what he hoped was a helpful manner to give the impression of a building on a hill.

The woman in front bowed to him, and thanked him for his help. As they picked up their bags and followed the trail, Liaku noticed the red-haired woman, specifically how she had that attractive motherly look, and he secretly watched her out of the corner of his eye as she and her companions headed to the Lon Lon Ranch. It was curious how they were looking for that place in particular, and for the rest of his trek to Hyrule Castle Town, Liaku felt guilty that he was unable to think of anything, or indeed any_one_ else…

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock_…

The sound reverberated through the wooden door and the still air inside the building, but there was no answer. Liaku knocked again, and a disgruntled voice from inside called, "Hold yer horses!" The door creaked ajar, and Liaku heard a familiar 'bless the goddesses', and the door opened fully, revealing the wizened old face of the manager of the Talking Horse Inn and Pub. "'s about time ye got here," he said with a smile.

"Sorry, Giffrey," Liaku said, whose smile mirrored that of the old man. Giffrey beckoned the boy inside, and led him down the hall to the kitchen. "I encountered a little delay after leaving the Ranch. From what I could tell, there was an incident this morning; I think someone was shoved into the river, and he didn't take too well to it. Alright, here we are," he said, unloading the large crate onto the counter. "Here are your weekly fruits, grains, vegetables – there wasn't enough zucchini this week for everyone, but we picked some extra eggplants, so I've added those to your bin. Ah, yes, here we are," he added, "as usual; the Lon Lon Ranch sends its complements." He pulled out a dozen eggs, as well as two large containers of milk, which Giffrey swapped with the empty ones by the sink.

Liaku paused for a moment as an idea struck him. "Hey, Giff," he said slowly, "it's my... it's my girlfriend's birthday tomorrow." It felt awkward calling her such for the first time, but he passed it off as normal. "I was wondering if you could, perhaps prepare a special something for the two of us for tomorrow evening. I'm treating her to a day out, and we're going to be in town for the performance."

"What'd ye have in mind?" Giffrey asked curiously. The manager rubbed his hands together excitedly; special requests, as rare as they were, were always a pleasure.

"Something that sort of says 'Happy Birthday," Liaku said after a moment's thought.

Giffrey chuckled, and he asked, "Literally or figuratively?"

"Figuratively, of course," the boy said, pleased to have relieved some of the awkwardness of his request. "I don't want her to think I'm going overboard with the whole dating thing, but I want it to be memorable."

"Ye _do_ remember that I'm a chef," Giffrey pointed out. "Anything I make ain't gonna be the most permanent thing around – unless, yer asking for something else, I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help."

Liaku shook his head at the man. "No, I understand; that's why I don't want anything extravagant. The day itself is supposed to be wonderful; I just want a little something at the end to make it… _perfect_. No, if you could make something simple, like a cupcake, that'd be fantastic."

Giffrey smiled at the thought, and, with a wink, said, "I do believe a cupcake is well within my ability to make."

"Alright," Liaku said, refocusing himself on his job. Making sure everything was in order, he said, "That comes out to the usual 108 rupees, then." The man counted out a large golden coin, and a handful of smaller ones, but Liaku refused the change, only taking the golden coin. "But, I think you should keep the rest; the extra eight is more than fair enough for doing this for me. Thank you, Giff, and I'll see you tomorrow," he said, beaming.

Giffrey winked at the boy, and bowed his head slightly. "Aye, that's more than generous, Liaku. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Liaku picked up the handles of the wheelbarrow and saw himself out of the inn. Ahead of him stood his next stop, behind the small houses in the way: Hyrule Castle.

* * *

After walking for what felt to his legs like hours on the cobblestone roads, but was really more like ten minutes, Liaku arrived at the Castle's courtyard gate. The foremost soldier brandished his spear at the approaching man. "Halt!" shouted the security guard, and Liaku halted. This time, he shouted, "Only authorized personnel are allowed beyond this point; show me your security badge," and Liaku pulled out his wallet and handed over the card. With an angry expression on his face, the guard looked at the badge, with its greyscale pictobox picture of Liaku, and showed absolutely no signs of recognition of the boy.

"You know, one of these days, you're just going to recognize me _without_ needing my security badge," Liaku said jokingly. The guard shot him a nasty look, and Liaku took that to mean that the attempt at small talk had failed.

The security guard frowned, and handed back the badge. "It would seem you have level one clearance," he said in a tone that clearly indicated that this frustrated him. "I trust you can navigate the dangerously curvy path by yourself; you seem to have survived the previous hundred times," he added sourly.

As Liaku walked through the gate, it occurred to him that the guard's sarcasm would have been much more amusing if he didn't overhear the second guard telling him that hurling the lance through an innocent boy would look bad when pay day arrived… It was strange, though; when he was much younger, before the Darkness and the war with Gannondorf, when he and his mother used to travel to Hyrule Castle, the guards had always been much friendlier. Now, everybody seemed tense, but it was strange how those residing in the Castle seemed to feel the effects most. Everywhere he went, people were cautious, but they always cheered up at the sight of a familiar, friendly face. Here, however, despite the tenfold increase in security since the last incident, nobody dared make even the slightest idle chat: it was either all business or silence. Liaku sighed as he realized that that's what terror can do to a kingdom.

The 'dangerously curvy path' of which he had been warned was, as usual, easily travelled, and within minutes, he arrived at the large double doors that bore the elegant Crest of Hyrule. This time, with his security badge already in hand, he presented it to the front guard, and decided to keep his mouth shut. After a moment, and, with his customary creepy smile, the guard opened the front door, and said to the men inside, "Please carry these crates to the kitchens. Our young friend here is making a routine delivery." In silent assent, three men each picked up a large crate and walked off, leaving Liaku with one more knight and the man with the disturbing grin.

The man unloaded the fourth crate. "Here you go," he said, first handing back the badge, and then pulling out a jingling pouch, the contents of which he handed to Liaku, who counted the coins.

Liaku bowed his head respectfully, muttered a quick "Thank you, sir," and almost forgot to pick up the empty crates from earlier that week. Then, he turned around, eager to get away from the Grin of Doom.

The guard, however, had other things on his mind. "Excuse me," he said to his fellow knight, and picked up the fourth crate that Liaku had unloaded. "You have the front gate," he said, and he and his unnerving smile followed the other three knights to the kitchens.

"Ah, there you are, Ixian," said the irritated voice of the equally irritated head chef. Ixian's smile dropped instantly, and he put down the crate on the island. "You know, the way you bare those teeth, someone would think you're getting ready to eat them."

"You three can go back to your posts," the guard named Ixian said, and the knights hurriedly shuffled out of the room. As soon as they left, he answered, "You know that 'friendly' isn't exactly my strong suit. But apparently I'm the only one the Queen, long let her rule, will trust to accept deliveries, so I do my best."

"Yes, well, I expect that you enjoy the perks of being her right-hand man too much to refuse her," the chef said. "Speaking of which—"

"I would think so, except I'm treated like dirt, and I'm apparently not allowed to know what she keeps in that dungeon of hers. What are the 'Dregs' she's been hiding? I mean," he said with a frown, recalling the previous trips to the dungeon doors with the next 'meal', "what kind of monster eats cuckoo and… _salad_? And what exactly _is_ a dreg, anyway – other than the tea leaf, of course."

"I don't know," said the now shorter-tempered chef, upset that he was rudely interrupted. "_As I was saying_, the delivery was late enough as it was, so I expect you don't want to keep dawdling. Remember what happened the last time someone made her wait?"

"Erm, no, I don't," Ixian said, confused.

"_Exactly_."

* * *

Cautiously, the man knocked on the door to the throne room, and backed away. A quiet female's voice, saying "Come in, Ixian," was heard through the door, and he slowly pushed it open, careful to keep the tray balanced. On the far side of the room stood the Queen of Hyrule, with her shimmering golden hair and flowing, white robes, gazing out one of the windows into the courtyard below. "You're late," she said, with a hint of agitation.

"You have my sincerest apologies, Your Highness," Ixian said, kneeling before the empty throne. The queen did not turn around, but instead examined a fold of the dress she was wearing in mild interest, and the guard cleared his throat. "You also have your lunch here," he said, hoping to distract her from whatever punishment he had in mind.

The queen chuckled at the nervousness in Ixian's voice. "Your fear is, while certainly warranted, unnecessary," she said. Having dropped the fold of cloth, she now pressed her face directly up against the window, as if to get a better view of something, and Ixian stood up nervously. "Settle down, Advisor, this is one-way glass; nobody can see my face," she said, sensing his concern. "It was enchanted by my…" she paused, and Ixian could hear the hesitation in her voice. "It was enchanted by my predecessor," she finished awkwardly.

"Anyway," she said, continuing to gaze at the various things below. "As I said, your fear is unnecessary; it's precisely your concern for me that gave you your position on my council, and it would be unwise for me to forgo it on a single tardiness. However, this doesn't mean such actions will go unpunished in the future; if this becomes a habit, I am likely to… shall we say, _overreact_.

"Now, we must discuss more important matters. My pets, the Dregs, are getting hungry again. On the table to your left is an envelope that you must bring to the dungeons, along with a loaf of bread and some cuckoo meat. Then we may continue with such things as lunch."

Taking that as his cue to leave, Ixian picked up the tray and placed it on the table and picked up the envelope. Quietly, he left the queen by herself, still gazing at various things in the courtyard below and the city beyond. He looked at the envelope and frowned. It was sealed, obviously for purposes of his exclusion, and only had two letters on the front, "L Z." As usual, the Crest of Hyrule was missing, but that was normal nowadays.

Ixian paused outside the kitchen, wondering just what he was going to be feeding. But he knew that curiosity was not going to be rewarded; it never was when internal affairs were involved. And so he pushed through the door, and resigned to his perpetual omission. "Hi again," he said, looking at the chef, who greeted him with a grunt of frustration. "I need a… a loaf of bread and a few pieces of cuckoo meat. It's for the 'Dregs'," he added.

"She works me like a _dog_, you know," muttered the chef. "Dogs are supposed to play fetch, not chefs. Here's your damned bread and your blasted meat." He added a "Humph" for good measure as Ixian turned around holding the plate.

Suddenly, Ixian paused, as an idea occurred to him. It was a strange idea – bizarre, even – and it was certainly unlike his very nature even to _consider_ doing something like that in this situation. But there it was in his mind, clear as day, and the thought denied all rational resistance. He turned around to the chef, and made a sort of choking noise to get the chef's attention. Ixian said, in a surprisingly polite tone, "Thank you," before leaving the room. The chef almost dropped the knife on his foot in surprise.

* * *

"We've been through this, Ix, you're not allowed down here. The Queen, long let her rule, has made it clear that she doesn't want you to see what's there. You can be very… opinionated at times. And I haven't forgotten last year's –"

Ixian groaned, and the dungeon guard stopped talking "So you keep reminding me, Arden." He handed over the envelope and the plate, and amused the thought that he could overpower the guard, but it was obvious that Arden's spear and heavy armour was much more than a match for his fists and skin, and made a mental note to learn some kind of fighting style. Instead, he merely said, "Enjoy," and walked away.

As soon as Ixian rounded the corner, Arden opened the dungeon door and descended the long flight of stairs, breaking through the envelope's seal as he walked. He propped his spear against a wall and read.

Arden,

My patience is beginning to grow thin from our lack of progress. However, even as I write this, I can feel their resolves to resist us are breaking.

I have sent Ixian with food for them, but once again, he is not permitted to enter the dungeon; I need him focused on keeping the public occupied during my search for the swordsman.

About my pets, I feel that the girl is almost ready to help. Give her some of the bread – make her think that she has more to gain by cooperating than by resisting, but do not promise anything; trust is exceedingly difficult to earn back once it has been lost. Continue giving them water; give her a little more than usual, but keep them thirsty, lest they regain enough strength and attempt to retaliate. As for the boy, let him watch. If physical pain cannot break him, then we shall crush his spirit.

That is all for now. And remember, Arden – I expect results.

-_Q_

"Yes, my Queen," Arden said, carefully refolding the letter and replacing it in the envelope. A faint rattling noise could be heard from a nearby room, and Arden smiled to himself. He filled a jug with water and picked up the plate of food. "Quiet down, you," he said, and pushed the door open with an elbow. Inside the small room was a dirt-covered figure bound to the wall, as well as a few dimly lit candles. The snarling noise and rattling of chains grew louder as the scraggly figure tried to attack the guard. "Nope, this food isn't for you today," he said, taunting the creature. Arden poured some water into a small bowl and slid it just outside of reach of his captive.

"What, no witty retort today?" he asked, sneering. "No threat about how you're going to get free and kill me in my sleep? You know that it is things like that that I live for, right? Humph," he added as his words were met with silence. Instead, a pair of fierce blue eyes glared at him, and Arden angrily shoved the bowl towards the figure with his foot, intentionally spilling some of the water. He walked to a door leading to a second, equally small room. "Maybe I'll have more luck with _her_ –"

"_Don't touch her_."

Arden turned around. The creature had ignored the water, and instead was struggling to stand. "Was that a _threat_, boy?" he asked, and snuffed out one of the candles.

"Don't you dare touch her," the prisoner repeated, croaking through a dry throat. The guard pulled of his helmet and hurled it at him, careful not to drop the plate. The prisoner put up his arms in defence, but the metallic object still cut into them.

"Now, you listen here, _Link_," Arden said, emphasizing the last word, and grabbing the man by his hair. "You _really_ have to work on your authority issues. _I'm_ in charge here, not you. _I_ make the demands here, _not you_. You'd do best to remember that." He threw the man against the wall and picked up the bowl. "If you don't want the water, I'm sure she could put it to good use," he said. He noticed the helmet lying on the floor at Link's feet, and kicked it outside towards the stairs. "And that's so you don't go getting any ideas."

With that, he turned around and pushed open the heavy door leading to the other room. On the opposite wall, facing the door was another person, a woman this time, with a woven cloth bag over her head. The only light in the room was from the candles by Link, and Arden's figure cast a dark shadow over her. From underneath the bag, Link could hear a faint sobbing, which became louder when Arden uncovered her head.

"Lunchtime, by order of the Queen, long let her rule." He placed the plate of cuckoo meat and bread in front of her, as well as the bowl, and she instinctually grabbed at it and started chewing, her crying subsiding. A grumbling from Link, however, alerted her that she was the only one eating.

"What – what about him?" she asked, looking at Arden with tear-stained eyes.

Arden smiled, and whispered just loudly enough for Link to hear him, "Link has been misbehaving a bit too much lately. He needs to learn that cooperation will get him rewarded with things like food, and maybe even a shower –"

"Don't listen to them, Zelda," Link shouted, and grasped at his dry throat, but pushed on. "Do you really want them to let –"

"_Did I say you could talk_?" Arden shouted, and quickly strode to Link's side, who cowed against the wall. "I have absolutely _had it_ with your noble, courageous attitude, you snivelling excuse for a man," he said, and swiftly delivered an uppercut, metal glove and all, into Link's stomach, who keeled over in pain.

"_Stop it!_" Zelda shouted, and began crying in fear, but Arden didn't listen. "Please, stop!"

"I have played along for _far too long_ with your jokes," he said, kneeing Link in the groin, "your threats," he said shoving Link to the ground, "and your resistance." He kicked the already bruised man in the ribs, and shot a nasty look at Zelda, who was in hysterics with terror. He looked back down at the boy, holding his throat and trying to speak. "_**You want water?**_" he shouted, and, grabbing the water jug, he smashed into Link's face. The boy collapsed, and lay unconscious and bleeding on the floor, shards of glass sticking out of his face. Only Arden's heavy breathing and Zelda's sobbing could be heard.

"As for _you_," the frenzied man said, pointing at Zelda, who recoiled in fear, "If you don't want _this_ to happen to _you_, I suggest you start talking _real fast_." He shot a disgusted look at Link. "I'll be back in two hours." He slammed the door shut behind him and ascended the stairs.


	11. The Embarkation of the Troupe

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000 (Gabriel B)

Chapter Eleven: The Embarkation of the Troupe

"Catch!" the girl shouted, and hurled the ball with all her might to her brother. He threw his arms out and ran backwards to catch it, tripping over a ledge and landing in a bush. The ball landed next to him, neatly in the dirt.

"Ow," he whimpered, rubbing his head. "You need to work on your aim," he said, and picked up the ball. Now he had to get her back, so he picked up the ball, closed his eyes and wound up his arm, and then flung it as hard as he could. When he opened them again, he saw his sister laughing at him. "Hey, what's so funny?" he said, looking around for the ball. "Where'd the ball go?" She pointed over his head, and his stomach sank. Of _course_ it had to go _there_... "Alright, but you're helping me get it!"

They approached the fence surrounding the strange building, and groaned as they found the ball on the wrong side.

"Hey, there's a hole there!" said the girl, pointing off to the left. Indeed, part of the fence had been cleanly sliced away, leaving a hole easily big enough for a small adult to crawl through. "I think we can fit through there."

"I don't know about that," said her brother hesitantly. He looked at the ball, the fence, and at the building. "I mean, yeah, I could probably fit, but what about the rumours? They say people who get too close disappear and never come out…" The boy turned to his sister. "I don't think I want to."

"Are you too _scared_? Is that it?" his sister taunted, and he turned around again and rolled up his sleeves.

"It's just a stupid temple," he said, and got on his hands and knees. The hole was surprisingly large – either that or he was surprisingly small; either way, he climbed through with minimal difficulties, and had a triumphant look on his face. "Take _that_, stinkin' rumours!" he said, punching the air and flexing his muscles needlessly.

His sister waved at him, saying, "Hurry up and get it. What if someone finds us here?" Her previous air of carelessness vanished as she realized that her brother might actually be in danger.

The boy nodded, and ran over to the building, picked up the ball. "Ha-ha!" he shouted. "How many people do you know have actually touched the Temple of Time?" he said gleefully to his sister, and, just for good measure, gave the building a nice solid kick, resulting in a pain in his toes. But his glee and pain were short-lived, and were almost immediately replaced by a dreading sense of fear as he heard a noise coming from inside the Temple, followed by a deep, resounding _boom_.

The girl saw him freeze, and panicked. "Oh my – are you okay? Speak to me, Timmy, what happened?" She futilely reached a hand through the fence to try to grab her brother, but she was altogether much too far away to reach his arm.

"_Shh_, I think there's someone inside!" Timmy whispered at her, and her arms flailed even more at him.

"Then _why are you waiting around for them to get you_?" she said, squealing in far too loud of a voice for their own good. "That's how they get people, so _come on_!" And so Timmy ran back to the fence, crawled through the hole, and the two siblings ran screaming from the building, afraid for their lives.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Nabooru asked, shouldering her bag and brandishing her sabre. When nobody responded, she said, "It was a dull thud that came from over there." She pointed at the far wall of the temple, next to the concrete door.

"It was probably just an echo from the doors," Ruto said dismissively, still gazing at the sapphire. Her answer, though, was met with a high-pitched shriek from outside, and Darunia pulled his hand, which suddenly started burning, from the ruby.

"Could you turn down the heat, D?" Saria asked, taking a step back. "You're going to catch _us_ on fire, too, like that." There was another shriek, this time fading away as the source of the noise seemed to be retreating rather rapidly.

This time, Impa raised her hands offensively, but Hyre waved his hand, saying, "Never you mind them, Madam; it's just a few kids. There's a rumour that this place is haunted; there has been, for a few years. Supposedly, anyone who gets too close will vanish and never be seen or heard of again, so, naturally, youngsters dare each other to touch the Temple and live to tell the tale." He walked past the incredulous Sheikah and over to the far door, which was obscured in shadows. "I don't think our little reappearing act has done anything to assuage their fears," he said, and ran a hand slowly over the stone frame, as if he were reconnecting with an old friend.

Nabooru sheathed her sword, and turned back to look at the glittering gemstones longingly. She asked, "So these are the 'Spiritual Stones' you mentioned earlier, right? You're telling me that they haven't been stolen in what, ten years?" Ruto shot her a dirty look, and she said, "Don't look at me like that, I'm only asking a question."

Saria looked at the emerald, and thought of home. "Are people really like that?" she asked quietly, and tried to pick it up, but was startled to discover that it wouldn't budge, despite being suspended in the air. She grabbed it firmly with both hands and planted her feet on the platform, and pulled with all of her strength, yet all she accomplished was pulling a muscle by her shoulder.

"There you are," Hyre said to himself, knocking on part of the door, and turned around. A shiver tickled Impa's spine as the shadows were cast across most of his face, which seemed to amplify the mystery – and the frustration – about him. How could someone be 'not quite' a Sheikah? "I suspect Miss Saria's got the answer to that," Hyre said, interrupting her train of thought. He nodded in the direction of the emerald, and Impa turned to see Saria, both hands on the gemstone, with a guilty look on her face at the sudden attention.

Saria forced a chuckle, and tried to regain her composure. She said, "Yes, well, it appears that they are… _stuck_ in place." She rather patted the stone and turned away, trying to find something else on which to focus until the awkwardness died down.

"Alright," said Hyre, mental focus shifting yet again; "upwards and onwards, or however the saying goes." There was a loud _click_ from behind him, and Hyre stepped from the shadows with somewhat of a pleased look on his face, which promptly vanished, and was replaced with the expression of someone who was straining to hold on to a sense of business without bursting into laughter. "A bit of, well, _fill-in_ story, I suppose: As you have probably figured out by now, this is the Temple of Time," Hyre said, holding his arms out wide. He paused, and turned around, saying, "I suppose once more it would be most advantageous to show you rather than to tell you," and walked back to the stone doors.

Impa frowned as another annoying inconsistency occurred to her, but it was shoved thoroughly out of her mind as she heard the creaking of aged hinges reluctantly opening, and sunlight poured into the remainder of the hall. She heard a collective gasp in awe at the initially blinding light, and a collective groan at the sight that followed.

"The last three years have seen a very slow recovery from the war, and certain… sacrifices had to be made to try and rebuild the kingdom. Unfortunately, the public access to the Temple of Time was one of them." Hyre sighed as he looked at the dead trees and bushes outside the temple, as well as the ivy-covered fence that surrounded it. Leading out from the door was a stone path, littered with sticks and leaves and overgrown grass. On either side of the path, there was a small pond, filled to the brim with murky water. Slowly, the Sages approached the exit and stared, half in shock and half in disgust, at the view – disgust at the state of their first sight of Hyrule, but shock at the fact that _it was actually Hyrule_. "Shortly after Ganondorf was… defeated, the royal court had this place quarantined. They claimed it was supposed to be preserved… they're doing a piss-poor job, if you ask me."

Saria kneeled by one of the withering shrubs, and ran a hand through its branches. Some of the colour returned to its leaves, but more of them fell to the ground, having been completely rotted through. Ruto wobbled over, laundry basket in hand, and grasped her friend's arm, pulling her up. "Come on, Newt, don't worry about it right now," she said comfortingly.

She felt an ache in her shoulders, and Impa shifted her grip on the box to her side, and looked past the fencing and forest to the city beyond. From what little she could see at the moment, the streets didn't exactly seem _deserted_ per se, but they surely weren't as busy as she remembered them, over a decade before. _Has it really been that long_, Impa wondered sadly. Finally, she let her attention fall to the once glorious, but now decrepit, Temple of Time, dirtied windows and crumbling walls. It pained her to see it in its current state, but she shook it out of her mind. Somewhere behind her, Darunia shifted uncomfortably.

"Hey, Dar," Saria said, poking his elbow with her right hand and pointing behind him with her left, "is that Death Mountain?" she asked with a half-smile on her face, recalling both her dreams and the feelings they caused. It seemed strange that a mere hour and a half prior, her biggest concern was a map and what she was going to have for breakfast, and now she was preparing to find, and perhaps save, her childhood sweetheart. The _stomp, stomp, stomp_ of the Goron's footsteps broke her out of her reverie, however.

Darunia hoisted his stone basin up in his arm and followed Saria's gaze. Sure enough, in the distance above the barren trees and through the fencing, the unmistakeable ring of smoke surrounding Death Mountain, home of the Gorons, was clearly visible, and it brought a smile to Darunia's face.

Impa shifted the weight of the box again, as it was now starting to push through her leather uniform into her hip, and then realized that perhaps bringing all of her belongings in a _box_ wasn't quite the smartest thing she's done all week. Looking around, it occurred to her that only Saria and Nabooru had brought anything actually conducive to long-term trekking. Her box, Darunia's hollowed _rock_, and Ruto's _laundry basket_ were hardly the most comfortable things to carry for long periods of time, and it seems that it was dawning on them, as well. But Nabooru, with her self-proclaimed rucksack dangling beside her, was oblivious – and bored.

"So where are we going first?" she asked, agitated, and Impa realized that she didn't know where Hyre was at the moment. The familiar, oddly deep voice off to her left answered that question.

"Actually, we have to make a quick detour," he said, and then glanced at Ruto, who, too, had attempted to find a comfortable stance with the basket. "Or two," added Hyre. "But to answer your question, I thought we'd first visit Kakariko Village, the hometown of the Sheikah – if that's okay with you, Madam." He looked curiously at Impa, who simply nodded and frowned at her choice of luggage.

Nabooru spoke again, saying, "Aren't we sort of pressed for time? Shouldn't we try and get a move on, like, _immediately_?"

Hyre turned around completely, and looked mildly confused for a moment that nobody had moved, but shook his head and answered. "I said we have two stops to make, and both of them are more or less as important in some fashion. Firstly, we have to stop at one of the shops in the Market and get some bags for you." Impa nodded appreciatively, and noted that for once, she completely agreed with something he said. "Secondly, I would like to collect the rest of my belongings before we depart, and they are between our first stop and our first destination, so I do hope you don't mind. I was… _rushed_ this morning, and didn't bring my things, of which I have grown rather fond."

There was a small silence before Saria pointed out the obvious, "How exactly do we get _out_?" She looked up. The fence didn't just stretch around them; it stretched _over_ them, as well, trapping them in like animals in cages.

"Like this," Ruto said with a slight smile, and calmly began glowing with a bright blue aura, which grew brighter and brighter until it enveloped her completely, at which point the fair-sized Zora was replaced by the light itself, hovering in place where she had stood, just moments before. The glowing blue orb stayed put for a moment, pulsating, before it glided forward and easily passed through the iron lattice of the fence.

Saria smiled at the equally obvious solution, and followed suit. One by one, a green, a red, and an orange sphere joined their companion, now completely freed from all barriers between themselves and home. Impa looked at Hyre, who wore an expression that seemed to say, "I guess so," and with a shrug, her violet light met the others.

As they reformed on the outside, Impa heard a small _pop_ to the left where Hyre had been. She glanced over, and saw that he was now sitting on a stone on the outside of the fence, rubbing his knee.

"What was that sound?" Nabooru asked, looking around for the source. "And how did you get out?" She walked over to where Hyre sat, and the others followed.

Hyre slid off the rock, and kicked out his leg, stretching his knee, to which he pointed. "That sound was my leg; it's not used to this kind of stress anymore. And I _was_ standing by a hole in the fence that I was kind enough to create for you when I arrived this morning, but I'll admit: your solution had slightly more… _finesse_."

"Hey, Impa," Ruto said, motioning her elbow at the now-vacated rock. "Those things have got your 'Watching Eye' emblem on it."

Next to the fence, there sat four gray stones. Each of them was identically shaped, but time had worn down the features to an almost indistinguishable level. However, they appeared to have been carved and sanded such that the outline of an eye was visibly protruding, as was a ring within it. Three triangles, probably representing eyelashes, had been etched above the eye, and two light lashes were below the eye. Between them, as thought it was as an afterthought, the stones had a further indentation around a small teardrop.

Impa and Hyre turned to the stones, and they both frowned. "That's a Gossip Stone," Impa said with a sigh. The other sages turned to examine the stone, each with varying degrees of interest. "They were used as informants by my people…" she broke off, saddened.

"The Sheikah," Ruto offered helpfully, and tried to pat Impa's arm comfortingly, but both failed and dropped her basket.

"Yes, the Sheikah used them as watchers of the lands for information that we would otherwise have a difficult time acquiring," Impa said, ignoring the mishap. She approached one of the stones, and crouched. To the surprise of everyone, save Impa, it sprang to life, and a red colour filled the protruding portions of the rock. A light seemed to shine from it as the worn-away portions seemed to fill themselves in. Impa stared at it for a moment before standing up, and the colour faded, the light died away, and the stone withered.

"What… what just happened?" Saria asked in awe, breaking the silence that ensued. Even Nabooru, who had been eyeing Hyre's sword jealously for a moment, turned to the source of the interest.

Instead of answering the question, however, Impa turned to Hyre and smugly asked him, "What did _you_ hear?"

Even more surprisingly, Hyre raised his eyebrows, and said rather innocently, "I didn't hear anything, Madam. As far as I am aware, they tell you the time of day, though just over ten years ago, I recall them counting down to something from at least 60 hours, but that's not the point. Gossip Stone, you say?" he added, and crouched in front of another one, which remained wholly unresponsive.

"Then you _aren't_ a Sheikah," Impa said, crossing her arms, as though she had won an argument. "But _only_ the Sheikah have red –"

"Now is not the time to have this argument," Hyre said, looking at Nabooru, who had returned to glancing at Hyre and his possessions, and she turned away embarrassed when he caught her eye.

_He's avoiding the subject again_, Impa thought, agitated, and returned to the subject of the Stones. "Though, if you claim to know about us, why don't you know about the Gossip Stones?"

"Madam Impa," Hyre said quickly, with a bow, "I may be thorough, but I am hardly capable of knowing _everything_ – and even if I so wished, without resorting to time travel – which I can't do, by the way; believe me, I considered the option – I simply do not have the _resources_ to discover every interesting fact about your cultures' pasts." He spoke sternly, but his face merely showed a trace of sadness mixed with pride. For what that pride was, however, was anyone's guess. Impa was about to protest, but –

"Will you two _quit fighting_?" Darunia roared, and everything went silent; even the wind seemed to stop blowing in shock. "You've known each other for a whole damn _hour_, and yet you're fighting like Nabooru and Ruto have for the last three _years_!" At the mentioning of her name, Nabooru turned away with a 'humph'. Ruto fidgeted with her basket.

Impa looked at Darunia, and she suddenly gained a new appreciation for just how _big_ he was, and decided that perhaps he was right. She saw Hyre turn around and look out towards the marketplace, presumably to check if anybody heard them. _I'm not done with you_, she thought to herself, and took a deep breath. "This Gossip Stone doesn't know anything about Link," she said slowly. "And I expect neither do the other three. But they're isolated from the main part of the city, and wouldn't know much about the goings-on of anything outside of their corner. There are dozens of others, though, scattered throughout Hyrule; I'm sure that one of them might have more luck."

"Thank you for that," Hyre said, and walked towards a few steps leading to the main part of town. "Now, our first order of business is getting to each… establishment with as little difficulty as possible. That ball-of-light trick, can you keep doing that?

"Yeah," Saria answered, "but I don't think we should float around inside the town. We don't want people getting suspicious, right? I mean, I don't know the Hyrule people very well, but I imagine that not everyone's used to fairies floating around, right? _Oh_!" she said, having reminded herself, and looked around her, but didn't find her own fairy. Her face fell from disappointment.

Hyre shook his head. "No, they aren't," he said, and faced the Sages, looking remarkably overjoyed by something. "Thus, we must make our way to the first of our detours; the Castle Town Market. Madam Impa," said Hyre, with increasing gusto, "would you care to go shopping with me?"

Ruto almost dropped her basket in shock.

* * *

_Ring, ring, ring_ came a sound from above them as Hyre pushed the door open, followed by a _ring, ring, slam_ as the door closed behind them. Hyre looked slightly awkward, and said, "Perhaps I should have had my second thoughts _before_ leaving them without you…"

"Oh, customers!" came a shout from behind some shelves, and a lanky man wearing glasses which were altogether too big for him hobbled into view. "What can I do you for today, my good friends?" he said, rubbing his hands together. He walked over to the desk and tried to draw their attention to the large showcase behind him, filled with cups, mugs, and other various trinkets, each with the same image drawn onto them. "Good thing you showed up early! These once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity goodies won't be around for much longer once the crowds really start to roll in! And don't forget about this!" He pulled out a pictobox, with a tag announcing the "ORACLES SPECIAL" with its not-so-affordable price of "JUST 1,250 RUPEES!"

Before he could continue his well-rehearsed sales pitch, Hyre broke in, saying, "No, we haven't come for the paraphernalia," and the smile vanished from the salesman's face; he'd clearly forgotten to rehearse this outcome.

"Ah, I-I see, sir," he stuttered, and returned the pictobox to its shelf. "Then w-what goods may I offer you?" The salesman nervously spread his arms wide to display the wide variety of merchandise he sold, and Impa looked around. The store had seemed small on the outside, but inside, it was packed with a plethora of various tools, clothes, supplies, and goodies that would make any camper squeal with delight. And that was only one section; in another, she found equipment she had seen Link carry with him on display – potions, shields, arrows, and the like. And of course, behind the counter, there was the extensive display of memorabilia for whatever this event was. But Hyre was focusing on something else.

He had made his way over to one of the shelves in the outdoors section, and Impa realized why they were here – or at least, why _he_ was there. She couldn't figure out why Hyre brought her along with him, as all she's done was silently follow him.

"What is a 'Bag of Holding'?" he said, and pulled one of the backpacks off the shelf and examined it with interest. The bag had a lot of straps and zippers and pockets, each probably designed for some important purpose, and the end result was that it looked fairly ridiculous, rather than particularly useful. The sales clerk adjusted his spectacles and seemed to calm down, and approached Hyre with excited eyes.

"That, sir, is a marvellously useful object with the incredible property that it can hold whatever is placed inside of it. It is, in a way, the universal solution to the Knapsack Problem," he added, and chuckled at his own joke. However, Impa's blank stare and Hyre's raised eyebrow indicated that he was the only one who found his comment amusing, and he coughed. "Yes, the Bag of Holding," said the clerk, and a business look returned to his face. "Unfortunately after the initial craze, not everyone can see its usefulness, and we have been rather desperate to get rid of the ones that we have. The discount price is 60 rupees." Impa's stomach dropped. _Money_, she thought, and realized that she had none anymore. Hyre, however, didn't seem to share her concern.

"Fantastic, I'll take three," Hyre said, and the clerk nearly dropped his glasses in surprise. He handed the one he was holding to the baffled salesman, and pulled two more off the shelf.

There was a low rumbling from outside, and Hyre said, "Maybe a few umbrellas, too."

"Oh, no," the salesman said, as he found some on the shelf. "What if it rains tomorrow night, and the concert gets cancelled?"

Hyre reached into one of his front pockets, and paused for a moment. Then he fumbled around a bit more, and with a small _pop_, pulled out a jingling wallet. He paid for the Bags of Holding, as well as five umbrellas and answered, "It won't rain tomorrow evening; you have my word on that."

The salesman, confused, simply nodded, thanked them for their business, and wished them to come again. The door rang as they opened it to leave the shop, and once they were outside, Impa leaned over and said with a slight smile on her face, "you can't seriously control the weather, can you?'

"Oh, goodness no," said Hyre, who shook his head and laughed. "That would be preposterous." Impa looked at him, slightly relieved. _That would be going a bit too far_; she figured, _concerning the crazy, outlandish things he apparently _can_ do..._ "However, I _do_ know someone who might…" Impa smacked a hand to her forehead in frustration.

"So, now," Hyre said, as they began walking back to the Temple of Time, "the reason I asked _you_ to come along with me was because _now_ is a fine time to discuss your… concerns about me, away from the others."

"Oh, _where to start_?" Impa said sarcastically, and stopped. "Let's see; how about at the beginning? How did you get inside the Sacred Realm? It's been sealed off for three years."

Hyre answered, "Walk and talk, Madam Impa, walk and talk. I got in the same way I got out – the use of a Key, something that was, long ago, tied to that place."

"The onyx stone," Impa said, and resumed walking. Hyre pulled out the stone and Impa took it. There was nothing particularly special about it; it was chiselled out of a whole crystal the same way the others had been, and inset into a wooden platform. But his story didn't quite fit. She shook it at him, and asked, "But if you had this when you entered, why did you borrow mine? It would have saved a lot of trouble, and wouldn't have raised so many questions."

This time, it was Hyre who stopped, and Impa thought she saw a flicker of fear across his face. They stood there for a few moments, with Impa growing increasingly pleased that she was making him uncomfortable. Something was amiss about Hyre, and Impa intended to find out what. She decided to drive the point harder.

"You know, now that I think about it, there was something else odd about this," she said, continuing to walk. Hyre reluctantly followed, his face stony, trying to gauge just how much she knew. "When you opened the Doors of Time to leave, the doors, and you, started glowing, right?" She smiled as Hyre closed his eyes, and finished. "The problem is that they had a _purple_ aura, but this had a _black_ aura. This had nothing to do with the doors opening for us, did it?"

Hyre's formerly cheery demeanour had completely disappeared by now, and had been replaced by a man struggling between two choices: digging a deeper hole for himself or seeing just how much trouble he was in now. After a few minutes in silence, he finally spoke, just a single word: "No." Impa stopped, and so did Hyre.

"Who are you?"

"I am a wanderer–"

"Where are you _from_?"

"I have no home–"

"_Why are you here?!_"

"I am here because I am _lost_!" Hyre shouted, and turned away from Impa. "This… I can't _go_ home because I don't know _how_ to get there. But believe me, if I could, I would."

If at all possible, this made even less sense to Impa than his previous comments. "But… but you know _so much_ about _us_! Why can't you look at a map or something?"

Hyre looked up, and oriented himself. He pointed a finger to his left and said, "That's north, give or take about that much," and waved his arm to give a general sense of where north happened to be. "The… band, I guess you could call them, that's playing tonight are the Oracles, and they hail from the kingdom of Holodrum. Can you point in the general direction of Holodrum?"

Impa raised an eyebrow, and wondered what that had to do with anything, but she supposed that if he had a point, she would let him make it. She thought back to when she pored over every book in the Royal Library all those years ago, and cautiously pointed the southeast. Then she realized that was a complete guess, and mimicked Hyre's hand-wobble to give a general direction.

"Actually, it's about east-northeast," Hyre responded, pointing at Death Mountain. "It's about a week's walk that way, not counting the two days needed to cross the Mountain. It goes a lot quicker by horse or caravan, though, but I digress, and rather effectively, too – damn," he added as he realized he went on a tangent to his tangent of a tangent.

"Anyway, I am willing to bet that the reason you said that was because of what you read in the Castle as a guardian of the Royal Family. I can assure you that very few others know where it is at all; in fact, were it not for the concert and their rather startling popularity, most people would have never _heard_ of it, either. People here tend to have a rather… lax… sense of geography." He sighed, and Impa saw a hint of sadness fall across his face. "The reason I cannot consult a map is that, much like the city of the Leviathans, my home isn't _on_ any map; at least, not ones we'll find here."

"So how did you end up here, then?" Impa asked, trying to judge whether or not she should believe him. It was nice finally to get something resembling an answer out of the stranger, but she would prefer direct "I'm a god" or "You're dreaming, and I'm not really here" explanation. Dancing around the truth was beginning to irk her.

"It's a long story, the details of which would bore you. But it was also quite some time ago, so it hardly matters anymore, anyway. What _does_ matter is that, more than anything, I want to go back."

"Can't you just go the way you came?" Impa asked, attempting to sound helpful rather than obvious, but failing. "Or is it not that simple?"

Hyre looked at her, and it occurred to her why his expression had always seemed so distant, even when he was joyful; he was not where he was suppose to be. He spoke slowly, saying, "It is in no way that simple. I have had many, many years to think about it, and if that were possible, I would have done so without any fuss. But it was not, so I _could_ not. I was… put here, more or less against my will, and I have no way to get back, but oh, how I long to return…"

Impa closed her eyes in concentration, and desperately tried to recall the scene from just an hour ago. She was surprised as a jolt ran through her body, with the memory flowing into her mind, clear as ever, and opened her eyes. A black light was shining from the onyx still in her hand, and the crystalline ornaments from earlier surrounded them. A long, gorgeous wooden table ran next to her, and at its end sat a familiar-looking man. However, they were short-lived, and before she could get a good look at him, Hyre grabbed the ball from her hand, and the objects faded.

"I don't want anybody else getting… curious," he said, and put it back in his pocket. "But yes, that was one of the Great Halls in my kingdom's castle."

"You haven't answered my question yet," said Impa, and she resumed walking to the Temple of Time, and Hyre reluctantly followed.

"_You_ seem to have many questions; I'm not sure to which ones you want an answer, nor which ones I already _have_ answered. And I have one of my own – do I really need to be the one to carry _all three_ bags? I'm no expert, but I think I look fairly silly like this," he said, raising his left shoulder to indicate the three bags slung over it. It seemed that he was trying to regain some of his usual upbeat attitude. Impa lifted one of them from him, and he thanked her.

"Here you go. Now, you haven't told me – honestly, mind you – how you got inside the Sacred Realm. I want to know the truth this time."

Hyre scrunched his face in thought, and then said, "I guess 'it's an inherent part of who I am' is the best way to explain it. Tell me, do you remember actively _becoming_ linked to the Sacred Realm, right? Of course not," he said before Impa got a chance to answer. "It happened years, decades, _centuries_, even, ago, and surely you aren't that old!" Impa didn't even bother pointing out that neither was _he_, but from where he seemed to be heading, it wasn't that important. "However, I don't think you can claim that you don't actually _have_ a link to it – you are a Key just as much as I am, because you were _born_ that way – it's part of the benefits of being a Sheikah, I suppose."

"Which, if I recall correctly, you are apparently 'not quite'," Impa said, having already suspected for herself most of what he was saying. "You still haven't told me how _you_ are connected to it, without yourself being a Sheikah. You didn't hear the Gossip Stone, and we all can – could" she corrected herself, "hear them without the Mask of Truth. But you have a Sheikah's eyes…"

Hyre tilted his head and thought for a moment, but was spared answering as the Temple of Time came into view, and, relieved, he said, "Looks like we're back. And I suppose I should have trusted you when you said that they wouldn't kill each other – though Misses Ruto and Nabooru don't seem to be getting along very well." Impa begrudgingly looked at the two of them, each with an arm around the others' neck.

Darunia was next to Nabooru, pleading with her to let go of the Zora's neck, and Saria was sitting on the ground poking Ruto's leg to try to get her to focus on something other than murder. Neither of them seemed especially successful. "You can kill each other later, Iketh" Saria said, spotting the returning duo, and attempting to stand up without taking off her bag, failing, and knocking into the two arguing ladies.

Before they walked up the steps, Impa pulled Hyre over, and whispered, "You know, I haven't asked what I believe to be the biggest question of all – why _now_? Of all the days you could have picked to come to us for help, of all the time you've known that Link was missing, you chose _today_ to seek our help; you chose _today_ to come to us to help. What changed? Can you at least tell me _that_?"

Hyre looked at her, and said, "What difference does it make what changed?" It felt like a smack on her face.


	12. The Reunion of the Beloved

Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000 (Gabriel B)

Chapter Twelve: The Reunion of the Beloved

It had started out innocently enough, as usual, but all too often, it escalated. Now was part of that 'often', and he was helpless to stop it.

The four of them had been quiet for a good five minutes, looking at various things, such as the Gossip Stones or the market or the plants, but nothing really captured their attention. And so Nabooru grew bored. Darunia later reflected that it was never a good thing when someone got bored, least of all Nabooru. But it wasn't until something set her off that her short temper would be released.

As Darunia realized again, rightly so, it would be Ruto who would make the offending remark, and an explosion of shouting would doubtlessly ensue. His imposing figure and authoritative demeanour could only quiet them so many times, and they ran out fairly quickly when they first arrived in the Sacred Realm. Darunia knew that it would be his job to restrain Nabooru and Saria's job to ease Ruto, but only Impa or Rauru could truly put an end to the fighting. Obviously, neither of them was nearby, and so havoc ensued.

Saria was lying in a patch of grass, and Ruto was sitting with her feet in the water, head laid back next to Saria, and both of them were gazing up at the clouds, each thinking to themselves. Ruto broke the silence with a sigh and Darunia closed his eyes, waiting for it. "Why did Impa get to go shopping instead of me?" Ruto asked with a definite pout in her voice, and Nabooru turned to look at her. "I mean, why does that guy, Hyre, get to decide who goes where and does what?" She turned her head and looked at Saria, who looked back at her.

"Who knows why that guy does anything," she said with a shrug and returned to looking at the sky, probably thinking about Link, judging by the joy on her face. Ruto, however, sat up and flopped her feet out of the pond.

"Yeah, but it's not fair that Impa gets to go, uh, _see_… people before we do..." she finished awkwardly. Perhaps she wasn't going to set Nabooru off, after all, and Darunia relaxed. There was a short pause before: "Damnit, _I_ wanted to go!" she finally burst, whining.

_There we go_, Darunia thought wistfully, and he and Saria braced themselves.

"Well, _**excuse me**_, Princess!" Nabooru shouted, throwing her hands up in the air, "_you_ wanted to go shopping! The rest of us are sitting here quietly, waiting for something to do, but you've already decided what you're going to do – _shop_!"

Ruto stood up, and without a moment's hesitation, took the bait and retorted. "So what if I do, miss High-Class Gerudo _Thief_? At least I got what I have through honest means! Where did _you_ get that –" she trailed off, and realized that there wasn't anything particularly valuable that Nabooru was wearing, but it was too late. Nabooru made to lunge at Ruto, but Darunia got in the way, and her fist hit the Goron's rock-hard skin with a thud.

"Come on, Nabooru," Saria pleaded, having been dragged into the disaster, "she's just itching to go home and see her family and friends again, just like everyone here is. You, of all of us, should sympathize with that the most – it's been _ten_ years for you since you've been home, right?"

Nabooru turned her fury on her. "If I recall correctly, it's been the same for you!" Saria paused, and then nodded, and Nabooru said, "Except that _you_, unlike _me_, were _awake_ for most of it!"

"Well, yeah, but… wait, _what_?" Saria said, now confused. "First of all, that argument doesn't even make _sense_, and second of all, you _completely_ missed the point of that!" she shouted, waving her arms wildly, and stormed off behind Ruto.

Darunia turned to the Water Sage, who was standing with her arms crossed, pointedly looking away from Nabooru. "Don't _you_ think you've been completely innocent in this, Ruto," he said to her, and she responded by turning her back to him completely, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Moblin'. Darunia continued, "At the very least, you could _think_ before you say something around Nab! You know how short of a temper – _aargh_!"

He broke off as a well-placed kick hit him squarely in the back of the head and toppled him forward with a crash. Nabooru dove off his back at Ruto, fists bared and screamed, "_What did you call me?_", but the Zora girl was ready, and the water next to her started bubbling. Saria, realizing the danger, ran for cover, but it was too late for Nabooru. The moment she landed on Ruto's back, there was an eruption as a geyser shot from the ground where the Sage of Water had just been.

But Nabooru wasn't ready to give up yet. As Darunia lifted his very wet, aching head from the ground, he was met with two startling sights. The first was the absence of Ruto and the pillar of water in her place, and the second was that Nabooru seemed to be wrestling with the water, and appeared to be holding her own in the struggle.

"I've got you, damnit! You're not getting off that easily!" she yelled, tightening her grip on a darker blue spot within the geyser head, which seemed to grow slowly. Around it, the water started to recede and the dark blue spot within assumed the familiar shape of Ruto.

With a last splash, Nabooru hit the ground, surprisingly dry. "What just –" Ruto started, looked at her hands and arms in surprise, but soon was looking at Nabooru's foot colliding with her face. Ruto flipped back in an almost graceful arc, and Saria gasped as she fell, chest-down, on one of the Gossip Stones. Nabooru landed cleanly and, with a battle cry that even inspired fear in Darunia, immediately hurtled forward to continue her assault. Her speed and manoeuvrability far outstripped what Darunia could manage, so he stood in place, waiting for a chance to grab Nabooru. _I rather preferred it when they were just shouting at each other_, Darunia thought to himself sadly.

Saria ran to her friend, but Nabooru got there first. To Darunia's and Saria's relief, Ruto pushed herself up from the stone, and brushed some dust off herself, just in time for Nabooru to grab Ruto's arm, set her feet in place, and yank. She met with surprise, however, when her hands easily slid off Ruto's arm. She looked at her hands, then back at Ruto. "Zora skin," Ruto said, with fury etched in her face, and delivered a solid punch to Nabooru's nose.

"_Now_," Darunia roared, and he thundered forward to grab Nabooru, but was again too slow, as Nabooru charged forward. Saria had lunged at Ruto, but her skin was still oozing, and she couldn't get a firm grasp on anything, instead falling down.

Nabooru's uppercut collided with Ruto's chin, shouting, "That's for calling me a Moblin!", but Ruto was ready. She grabbed a fistful of the Gerudo's robes, swept a foot under Nabooru's legs, and threw her to the ground, and followed up by attempting to stomp on her. Instead, Nabooru grabbed Ruto's planted foot and pulled, and Ruto came crashing down, narrowly missing the Gossip Stone.

Nabooru scrambled to get to her feet, but the Zora princess flopped herself upright, landing squarely on Nabooru's stomach. "And _that_'s for calling me _dinner_ earlier!" she said with a smile, and bent down to taunt her foe, which proved to be a mistake. Seizing the opportunity, and Ruto's throat, she forced the woman off her abdomen and, standing up, backed her against the fence. Ruto waved her arms around madly, and managed to find Nabooru's throat as well.

"Stuck up… immature… Zora… princess," Nabooru gasped angrily, and tried twisting her elbow around Ruto's neck, but found that Ruto's arm was surprisingly well-placed.

"Impatient, conniving… Gerudo… _brat_," sputtered Ruto, flailing a leg at her foe's foot, but missing fantastically. Saria managed to grasp her friend by the ankle and started poking her leg, trying to divert her attention, but Ruto would have none of it. Meanwhile, Darunia tried a less physical approach to calming Nabooru, and decided to warn her of what Impa would think of things if she were here.

"She would tell you to stop, first of all," he said, amidst the flying insults. "She would also have you running for cover – how does _she_ get you to calm down and I can't?!" Darunia shouted, frustrated, and Saria hung her head at his complete lack of progress.

"You can kill each other later, Iketh," Saria said, and Darunia looked up. Hyre and Impa were approaching them, apparently engaged in their own conversation. Saria tried to stand up, missed, and bumped into Ruto, who knocked into Nabooru, and the pair fell over.

"_What do you mean 'What difference does it make'?_!" Impa shouted, and Nabooru and Ruto turned their attention the new argument that was forming elsewhere, their own squabble forgotten.

"Perhaps that was the wrong choice of words," Hyre said, with his hands in front of him as though he was waiting for Impa to attack him. "I simply meant that… _how_ I know is not nearly as important as _that_ I know."

Impa motioned with her hands just how she would like to strangle Hyre, who took a cautious step back. "Why is it," Impa began calmly, "that whenever we ask a question of you, you hide behind a shield of words and mysteries, but Nayru forbid you ask something of _us_, we have to bend over backwards to accommodate you?" Her voice had risen to a shout by the end. Hyre ran a nervous hand through his hair, as if to check that it was still there, rather than having been burned off by Impa's anger.

Slowly, Darunia shuffled forward, and the others followed him. He saw some backpacks on Hyre's shoulder, but that was it – nothing that was the basis of the argument.

"Madam Impa, I know you think I want to tell you nothing, and to some extent, you are right. However," Hyre said, and paused, trying to find better words, "there are… other circumstances. I… there… can you keep a secret?" he said, eyeing the approaching Goron. Impa nodded cautiously, and she and Hyre turned their backs toward the other Sages. He spoke in a whisper, ensuring that the eavesdropping Sages couldn't hear their conversation.

"What do you think he's saying?" Ruto asked quietly, but Nabooru clapped a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. She put a finger to her lips, reinforcing the message, and Ruto nodded, and watched in silence.

Impa appeared to be rather confused, and after she shook her head for the third time in the first minute of the conversation, Darunia began to wonder just what was going on. But after a moment, Impa said loudly, "Alright, I'll accept that under one condition." Hyre turned to look at her better, and they could see Hyre's raised eyebrows, clearly asking what it was. "I want to meet them. I want to know you saw them _today_."

Hyre looked thoughtful for a moment, before he said, "I suppose I can arrange that…" Without turning away from Impa, he beckoned the other sages to come, knowing that they were listening.

"What did they say?" Saria whispered to Nabooru, reflecting the group's thoughts. "What was so secret that they couldn't tell _us_ about it?"

Nabooru put a finger to her lips, and said, "I'll tell you later."

* * *

"You're kidding! _You're the Oracles_?" Malon said enthusiastically through the doorway, almost overturning the farina bowl in excitement.

There was a bit of silence in the kitchen, followed by a clattering of plates as Malon carried out reheated breakfast for the women. She set out a bowl for each, a large pitcher of milk, and served them all generous portions of food, to the point where Farore said, "That – that'll be enough, thanks."

Malon realized she'd almost overflowed the bowls, and turned a bright red. "I'm sorry," she said, flustered, and tried to sit down, but missed the chair and started panicking. Nayru caught her by the arm, and helped her to her feet.

"Calm down; take deep breaths," Nayru suggested, and after a minute, the flushing in Malon's face began to recede, and she was able to locate and properly use a chair.

"I'm sorry," she said again, and Nayru smiled.

"It's okay, we get that a lot, and it's always nice to meet someone who enjoys your work."

Farore looked at the steaming pile of oats in her bowl, and her stomach growled. The 'farina' didn't look like the most appetizing thing she'd eaten, and it certainly wasn't her preferred toast with eggs, but dinner _had_ been a long time ago… She took a small spoonful and tasted it, and was met with a delightful mixture of wheat, honey, and water.

"Wow, this is ac – I mean it's delicious," she said, catching herself before she misspoke. "Did you make this yourself?" Farore added in an attempt to change the focus of her sentence.

"What – oh," Malon said, and Farore realized that she probably didn't even notice, anyway. "Yeah, I'm the one who makes breakfast and lunch, because I've got the morning shifts. I'm glad you like it!" She smiled, and Farore got the strange feeling that she'd seen that smile hundreds of times before, but on someone else.

"Hey, could you pass the milk, Far?" Din asked, as if on cue, and Farore tore her gaze away from Malon, and obliged. Din looked up from her notebook long enough to pour herself another glassful before returning to her scribbling, and occasional mouthfuls of oats.

There was a creak from behind Nayru, followed by a slow shuffling noise, as someone entered the inn. "What the tarnation time is it, Malon?" asked a raspy voice from a man who was clearly still sleeping. He was about Farore's own height, but with a scraggly beard and black hair. The man was wearing hastily-donned suspenders over his pyjamas, and didn't seem to notice that he was wearing only a single shoe – on the wrong foot, at that. Farore noticed Din turn a bright red, and when the man walked past them into the kitchen, she caught the glass of milk that her sister's twitching hand knocked over. Din and Malon were even ditzy like each other – had Farore not known her sister's secret, she felt it would still be very difficult to ignore the evidence presenting itself here…

"It's almost noon, Father!" Malon said, and picked up a napkin to help clean the slight spill. "And try and wake up, please; we have guests now." She lowered her voice to speak to the women. "As you heard, that's my father, Talon. Don't tell him I said this, but he's a pretty lazy guy in the mornings, and usually doesn't get out of bed until now, but he still pours his heart into this place, and it wouldn't have a chance at surviving without him."

"Guests, you say?" Talon said, and hobbled out of the kitchen rubbing his eyes. He looked at Farore, who gave him a weak smile, and returned it with an equally awkward grin of his own. "Pardon my appearance, folks," he said sheepishly, "we're not used to seeing travellers 'round here any – _galloping gargoyles_!"

He stared directly at Din, and from the look of shock he wore, it was fairly obvious that he recognized her.

Farore's awkward feelings became glee; she turned her chair to get a better look at Talon's expression, and saw Din hastily shove her bowl to the side and bury her face in her arms. Nayru, however, frowned as she looked between Talon and Din, as if frustrated that it had come to this. And Malon was simply standing there, mid-swab, confused as to what was happening.

A moment passed, and Din snuck a glance out from under her elbow, and, upon seeing all four of the others staring at her, went back to hiding.

"You… you're _alive_!" Talon said, dumbfounded. _Oh, come on, you can do better than that,_ Farore thought to herself, but was startled when she felt a surge of anger erupting from within the rancher. "You _monster_, _you're still alive_!" he said, and slammed his hand down on the table, making Farore jump. This certainly wasn't what she was expecting. Nayru, however, felt differently, as she shook her head and strained to return her attention to breakfast.

Din, realized that there was no getting out of this, and pulled her arms off her head and stood up. It took her a few moments to realize that he was furious, rather than pleased, by this news. She responded by saying, in a very manner-of-fact voice, "Would you rather I weren't, Talon?"

Malon shook her head and cleared her throat. She abandoned the spilled milk, walked around Nayru, and grabbed her father's arm. "Please excuse Father's outburst," she said with a scowl, and tugged, but Talon didn't move. "He's still _twelve_, it seems." Malon shot the man a glare as she said this, but her father shook her off, barely glancing at his daughter.

"Do you realize how long I've had to do _everything_ on my own because of your cowardice?" he roared across the table, and Din stepped back. Before she could answer, he continued, "_Fifteen years_, that's how long!"

"I'm sorry, I –" she started, but Talon's rage cut her off.

"Oh, I'm _sure_ you're sorry," he mocked, and crossed his arms. "I'm _sure_ you're _so upset_ about missing all of the _aggravation_ I've had to deal with as a single parent!"

Slowly, it dawned on Malon just why her father was so incensed and she gasped. "Father, stop it, please!" she said, and grabbed his arm again, but Talon shoved her away.

Farore stood up to protest, but Nayru, looking up for the first time since the foray began, said, "Stay out of this, Farore; this is not your argument."

But she'd had enough of these old wounds tearing open, especially just before their performance. If this kept going much longer, it would start getting physical, and any injuries Din would sustain wouldn't heal by the performance the following evening. _Not to mention the likelihood that our insurance would skyrocket_, she added as an afterthought. Farore mustered up the courage to stand up to her sister, and, shouting over Talon's angry remarks, retorted with, "Listen, Ny, just because _we_ didn't marry him doesn't mean this doesn't affect us!"

The room fell into silence, save for Talon's heavy breathing. Talon's anger seemed to subside a little, and he turned to look at his daughter. Malon looked at Farore, then at Din, then at her father, and, for good measure, at Nayru. Din looked at Farore, with her mouth hanging open, and then looked at Malon, trying to judge whether or not she'd made the connection. Nayru slowly put down her spoon and closed her eyes, but Farore knew what she was thinking: "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen." Everyone looked at everyone else, but none of them spoke, not wanting to be the one to break the silence. Even the wind outside faded, as if one stray noise would create an explosion.

At last, once enough time passed that it would be hard for anyone not to have realized what Farore meant, Din stepped forward. Farore gave her a look that clearly said _Give me your best shot_.

She spoke quietly, but the temper in her voice was obvious. "I can't believe you just did that to me, Farore. I _told_ you not to… I told you that _that_ was the _one thing_ that you absolutely _cannot let her know_, and, less than an hour after we get here, what do you do? _You go and say it when she's five feet away!_"

Farore was about to protest, but Malon took issue with this. "Wait, why didn't you want me to know you … you were my m-mother?" she asked, visibly offended. Din tensed up at that last word, and was about to try and answer when Farore interjected.

"More pressing, however, is just _when_ you figured it out, dear." Farore's voice was sweet, yet insistent, and she saw Nayru's hard expression of irritation soften into one of curiosity. But Farore smiled slightly, for she already knew the answer.

Malon turned to look at Farore. "Father… Father said…" she paused trying to remember exactly _what_ he'd said. "He said something about doing 'it' alone for fifteen years, but I've been here for almost _nine_teen, and before me, my _mother_ was here, and _then_ I realized that Mother _left_ about fifteen years ago, too. That, and when I saw Din this morning, she seemed so familiar, plus my dad almost _never_ gets mad, and when he does, it's usually for my own good…" She trailed off, and gave Talon a smile, who gladly returned it. "_Oh_!" she said, and her eyes grew wide. She looked past her father at Farore again, and sputtered, "_That's_ what you – I get it n—that's why – _oh_!"

"Honey, coherency would be helpful," Farore suggested.

"S—sorry, I just put a bunch of things together, now this all makes sense to me. To answer your question, it was when Father was yelling about the responsibilities that Mother left to him. It wasn't because of what _you_ said."

Farore smiled at her, then at her sisters. Nayru seemed slightly relieved, but Din was still nervous, as she looked awkwardly at her daughter.

"I'm sorry," said Din quietly, and looked away before Malon could make eye contact. She backed against the wall, and spoke with a definite wavering in her voice. "I'm so sorry that I – well, I'm sorry that I left, first of all. I promised myself it would just be the one time, but it was _such_ a success…"

Farore remembered the look on their manager's face when he'd gotten news of their popularity. He had told them that they were already on their way to becoming famous; all they needed was to travel. She remembered how Nayru had warned that Din's daughter was waiting back in Hyrule, but the allure of enough money to raise Malon without worrying about the cost of schooling got the best of her, and that she would do "just one more." But time went on, and her motives changed. Soon, almost a year had passed, and Malon's birthday was rapidly approaching, but she'd spent so much time away from family that they might not forgive her absence. Instead of returning, as she ought to have done, she'd arranged for a friend to stop by on a 'business trip' to make a purchase, and 'accidentally' leave behind a rather valuable opal. Subsequent years featured more conventional methods of delivery – postman or bird, if she wanted to be secret – but the concept always remained the same; anonymously give her daughter a birthday gift, with the unspoken promise that next year, it would be her mother. Farore tuned back into the conversation as Din ended her version of events, and had moved onto why she'd tried to hide that she was Malon's mother.

"…but my sisters had never met you before, so they didn't recognize the name of the Ranch. And I was so busy with my notes, that I didn't realize where we were going. But once I did, and I knew that you didn't recognize my name, I tried to hide it. Then I remembered what the first 'Lon' in 'Lon_ Lon Ranch_' meant…" Something Din just said struck Farore as extremely off. She felt something stirring inside Talon, and she saw him look away, embarrassed.

"Yes, I'm hurt that you left, but you're my mother; I can learn to forgive you, if you stay. But… wait a moment," Malon said with a frown. "I _didn't_ recognize your name – other than, of course, being one of the Goddesses. I thought you were using that name as a… what's the word… palindrome? No, wait, that's a word that's itself but backwards…"

"I think you mean 'pseudonym'," Din offered helpfully.

Malon nodded, and continued, "Yeah, that's the one. I thought you were using the name 'Din' as a pseudonym, because; well, for two reasons, actually. First, I'm surprised someone would be so bold as to name their children after the Goddesses. Second, which is my actual reason, is because _you_," she turned to her father as she stressed this word, "always told me my mother's name was Aryll."

Nayru looked up at this, and the three sisters shared a curious look. For the first time since the argument had started, she spoke, saying, "That was _our_ mother's name..."

Farore looked at Talon, who lowered his head shamefully. "I'm sorry, Malon," he said quietly, and looked at his daughter. "I wanted to… I wanted to stop you from looking for her. I thought that… that if you didn't know your mother's real name, you couldn't go looking for her, so I told you it was Aryll…"

"It's okay, Father," Malon said with a large sigh, and hugged Talon. She put her shoulder under her father's head for support, and said, "You were just trying to protect me, and I'll always love you for that." She broke the embrace and looked straight at her father. "That being said; _don't ever keep something important like this from me!_"

_If it weren't for the fact that he's obviously much older than she is, I'd never guess that he's the parent_, Farore reflected in amusement.

There was a low grumbling sound from the direction of Malon and Talon. Malon, still hugging her father, looked down and realized that it was her father's stomach, and promptly apologized. "I'll go reheat the farina," she said, picked up the no-longer-warm bowl, and hurried back into the kitchen. Her father, after a brief, awkward glance at Din, followed her.

Din gave him a half-hearted grin, and stood up when he left the room. She mumbled, "I'm going to get some fresh air," picked up her notebook, and headed outside.

Farore looked at Nayru, who simply shrugged, and followed her. She heard the scraping of her sister's chair, followed by her voice, saying, "We'll be outside, but I wanted to thank you, on behalf of all of us, for breakfast, despite what just transpired."

As she stepped outside, the bright sun made Farore realize that they had already been up and active for _hours_, and had only just had a solid meal. And now, with her mind focused by the new fuel in her system, she noticed the interior of the ranch for what it was: beautiful. Sure, she'd have preferred not to notice the smell of horses, but it gave the place a less industrial feel. The smell of the horses was accompanied by the sound of hooves and whinnying. These, in turn, were coupled with the sight of an actual herd of horses in a large field, sectioned off by a wrought iron gate. There were only three 'buildings' that she noticed: two on either side of the main road, and one on the far side of the ranch. The ground was soft underneath her sandals, and was heavily laden with flowers. Farore took a deep breath and felt as though here, she could relax.

She found Din sitting on a bench overlooking the horses' field, with the songbook closed at her side. She had her head in her hands, and was making a grumbling noise into her palms.

"Cheer up, Din," Farore said, trying to be helpful, and sat down next to her older sister. Nayru followed behind and sat on the arm of the bench. Farore continued, "You heard her, she's not _angry_ at you, just rather upset that you left. We can still give Malon her best gift yet! So what if she knows that you're her mother this time? Just think about how much more special she'll feel knowing that you're doing this for her!"

Din sighed, propped her elbows on her knees and rested her head, now watching the horses. "I suppose you're right, but it just feels awkward now, doesn't it?" she said.

"Time will pass, and things will get better; just you wait," Farore said, winking. "Just don't be a dunce around your daughter and it'll all work out."

"I guess, but you're not completely free from blame, yourself, Far. You _have_ to stop doing that!"

"Doing what?" Farore asked innocently, with a sweet smile.

"_Knowing_ things before the rest of us," said Din, and lightly punched her younger sister in the arm.

"Hah, you know I can't help it, Ruckus," answered Farore, who shoved Din away.

Nayru smiled, and Farore leaned back, resting her head on the top of the bench. While the morning hadn't exactly gone the way she'd expected, it seemed like the worst of it had passed. The next few days would be difficult, but they could manage it. As Farore looked, upside-down, down the road to the entrance, the only thing wrong she could see, other than storm clouds looming in the distance, was the owl, looking directly at her.

* * *

"For the record, you need to work on your stealth act," Hyre said as he turned to face the Sages. "You aren't exactly the most camouflaged batch of people…" Darunia avoided his gaze, and decided to look at Nabooru, instead. "Alright, sorry about the delay," he continued, and Darunia looked back. "As I said before, your luggage isn't in the most travel-friendly carriers – well, Saria's and Nabooru's are, but the rest of you, not so much. Saria, could you bring Impa's, erm, box, please? Darunia and Ruto, I have bags for the two of you that should be able to hold all of your belongings – Impa has her own already – and I have umbrellas for those who do not wish to be rained on this afternoon."

"Bring it _on_, I say!" Ruto said defiantly, and refused an umbrella. She and Darunia each took a bag, and emptied the contents of their unfriendly-shaped containers into a bag. Ruto looked sadly at her laundry basket, and wondered if she could fit it, too into the bag. Darunia, however, tossed his stone basin to the side, slid the shoulder straps on his back, and was done with it.

"I'm glad you brought it with you," Saria said to Impa as she handed the box of possessions to the Sage of Shadow.

"What – oh, you mean the… the robe," Impa said distractedly. "It was beautiful craftsmanship, so I could hardly leave it there." Saria smiled at the compliment. Darunia watched Impa emptying the wooden box, and thought about the robe Saria had made for him, now tucked away tightly in his new bag.

His musings were interrupted by the once-again impatient Nabooru tapping her foot, staring at Hyre with her arms crossed. The moment Impa buckled her bag shut and lifted it onto her shoulder, she blurted: "Can we _go_ yet?"

Hyre's grin grew maniacally, and he clapped his hands together. "I thought you'd _never ask_," he said, and twirled around on a heel, his cloak flapping behind him. Saria looked at Ruto, who shrugged, gave one forlorn look at her basket, and followed him.

Darunia thought to himself, _so this is really happening, isn't it?_ For three years, the five of them – Rauru excluded – had hoped and prayed to the Goddesses that they could be allowed to return to their homes, but none of them truly expected it would be. In fact, they'd even started to settle down there, and give themselves the illusion of a nice place to live. They'd all pitched in to create their Garden of Tranquillity, and Ruto had even created an aquarium of sorts around herself. Saria filled her room with trees and shrubberies and the like, while Nabooru covered her floors with sands and cacti. Rauru, years and years ago, had erected a citadel of light, with twenty-foot high windows gathering as much sunlight as possible, while Impa had shut herself in, the only source of light being candles. Darunia, in the true fashion of the Gorons, carved his own room by himself, out of a giant boulder.

But while they expected never to return to their lives back in Hyrule, none of them sat idly by and just watched; no, they were people of action, and the day-to-day _in_action would have surely killed them. The first ideas came from the Dynamic Duo – Ruto and Saria, for whom it took two weeks for a friendship to be built. After the four month project of constructing a garden was finally completed, Saria expressed a desire to do something 'real' and '_more_ incredible', as if what they'd just done hadn't been incredible enough. After another month, the two of them started giggling uncontrollably every time they saw each other, and when Impa finally asked what they did, Saria responded by saying that they 'made a tree; a really big tree' in the middle of Lake Hylia. Even Rauru apparently hadn't realized the kind of influence they could have on the world, and the Sages returned to their duties with a renewed vigour and purpose.

Progress of any kind had started slowly, but soon, the Sages developed a kind of control over more than just emergency situations. Darunia realized, and he assumed the others came to the same conclusion, that while he may not be able to be there in person, he was surely there in spirit, and could guide and develop his people to fulfil their true potential.

Darunia's stomach tightened as he realized that, in just a few short hours, he would be reunited with his people, his two-year project, and his son. The Goron heir, Link, named for the Hero of Time himself, would be nine years old now – almost old enough to inherit the throne. The Sage of Fire shook his head and realized that there were things that are more important at the moment, like finding the _actual_ Hero of Time.

Slowly, he heard the low chatter of people talking, and it unnerved him. He noticed the others shift uncomfortably, as they, too, felt the strangeness, but Hyre seemed not to feel anything. Saria shuffled herself behind Ruto, and peered out at the townsfolk going about their daily lives. Every once in a while, someone would glance over at them, and give the Sages an odd look. At the sight of Nabooru, the townsperson would hurry the other way, eager to avoid her.

"I'm getting the feeling that they don't like me," she said after a family of four nearly fell over themselves to get out of the way.

"It's not your fault; Zelda's Gerudo guardsmen haven't been too friendly since Ganondorf's reign," Hyre said vaguely.

"Well, gee, _that_ makes me feel a _lot_ better, thanks," Nabooru muttered, but Hyre chose not to respond.

They found a large fountain in the centre of a plaza, with a plaque reading in ancient Hylian. Underneath, it bore the modern translation, "_Castle Town: To Strength, To Wisdom, and To Courage_", with the Hylian Crest engraved at the bottom.

Hyre turned to the Sages, and said, "Under normal circumstances, I'd be giving you the grand tour of the kingdom, but with the situation as it is, I'm afraid you'll be getting the abridged version. This is Castle Town Market, but we really must be going."

As Hyre lead them down yet another street, Darunia asked Impa, "What's the first thing that you're going to do when you get home?"

Without hesitating, as if she'd planned out the rest of her day, Impa said, "There are some Gossip Stones that I must ask, and then I'll talk to the citizens. Someone's bound to have heard something about him. Why, what are you going to do?"

As they reached the end of the street, they were met with a gust of cool air from the left. Darunia covered his face with an arm, and when the wind died down, saw that it was coming from a lowered drawbridge forty yards away. Beyond it was a beautiful field – Hyrule Field. Impa sighed, and Darunia saw a smile across her face – the sight of such a familiar and unchanged place filled her with warmth that would only be surpassed by her return home.

The six companions hurried – almost running – to the drawbridge, but were stopped by a guard, who held out a hand. "That's quite a fellowship you have there, Madam," the guard said to Impa. "I don't want to interrupt you, because you appear to be in a hurry, but may I ask what business you had in Castle Town?" Hyre hurried forward, but Impa held out a hand of her own to stop him.

"I was giving my friends a tour," she blurted out after a pause. It's been such a long time since we've last been in Hyrule, and we finally got enough money and time off to come visit again."

The guard nodded wearily, and looked at Saria, who looked nothing like either Impa or Hyre, the only two people who _could_ have been her parents. "And this little girl is your… daughter?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

Saria made to protest being called 'little girl', but Hyre put a hand over her mouth and said, "Niece. She's my niece – and we're not married," he said, indicating himself and Impa.

The guard nodded slowly, and after a pause that clearly indicated he didn't believe them, said, "Right. Move along, then, and don't go causing any trouble. It's rough enough here as it is without you lot." Impa and Hyre smiled at him, and ushered the struggling girl over the drawbridge and into the field.

When they were finally out of earshot, Saria pushed Hyre's hand away from her mouth, and said, "Why did you stop me? You're so insistent on being right all the time, so why couldn't you tell him that I'm _not a little girl_?"

"They're not too fond of your forest; imagine what they must think of _you_, someone who lives in it. Sometimes, just letting them be wrong is easier than trying to convince them you're right." Saria seemed to dislike this answer, but accepted it nonetheless.

Guided by Hyre, the Sages continued in silence. Darunia wondered where they were going, as Death Mountain, and thus Kakariko Village, was in another direction entirely. After a while, he noticed that they seemed to be roughly following some tracks, off to the right, but Hyre didn't appear to be looking at them; they apparently coincided with his path. Once or twice, he considered voicing his confusion, but was interrupted as they stopped abruptly in front of a large, old oak tree.

"What's this?" Saria said, and looked at the large tree. It seemed withering, and Saria placed a hand on it. Some life slowly seeped back into its branches, but the leaves continued to colour and fall, as winter was rapidly approaching.

"This, Miss Saria, would be what I call home. Alright, this'll be quick," Hyre said, looking up. Jumping up and grabbing one of the lower, now-springy branches, Hyre expertly crawled – for there was no better way to describe it – the side of the tree, and disappeared into its leaves. They heard some rattling, and Impa peered up to see what was going on. "Look out," said Hyre's voice, and a falling backpack and accompanying duffle narrowly missed breaking Impa's nose. There was a pause, and Hyre said, "There you are—_no_!"

Something else fell out of the tree, followed closely by Hyre's head and arms, upside-down, chasing after it, before – "Gotcha!" Hyre dangled in place, legs wrapped tightly around a branch. He was holding on to an egg-shaped piece of wood, with holes carved into the side and into the top. Hyre swung his arms in place, before lightly tossing the object onto one of his bags, where it landed with a soft plop.

As he began his slow descent, Saria looked at the thing Hyre dropped with curiosity. She picked it up and looked at it from various angles, before saying, "_Oh_, now I recognize it! You had this thing in your… I don't even know what to call it… _memory_, I guess."

Now that Saria pointed it out, Darunia admitted that it did look slightly familiar, but he was never that good with instruments himself. That wasn't to say he wasn't a fan of music – quite the contrary, actually; he'd just never learned anything about _making_ it. "What is it?" he asked, simply.

Saria shrugged, found what appeared to be the mouthpiece, and put her lips to it. She blew into it, and it produced a low note. Saria frowned, and said that it was too low for her tastes.

Hyre finally returned from his escapade into the tree, and took the instrument back from Saria. "It's called a xun, by the way, and it's been my instrument of choice for as long as I can remember."

"So we came here to get your xun?" Impa asked, impatient.

"Gosh, no," Hyre said, shaking his head. He pocketed his xun, hoisted his bag onto his bag, and picked up the duffle. "When I left to find you this morning, I was in a bit of a hurry, and left my belongings here." There was a short pause as everyone looked at Hyre, waiting for his directions. Noticing this, he spoke, "So, about that semi-teleporting thing you guys can do – one, can you use it to get to the Lon Lon Ranch, and two, can I hitch a lift?"

Darunia said, "I don't know where this ranch is, but if someone leads the way, I think we can take one extra. Do you know the way, Impa?" The Sheikah nodded, and Darunia said to Hyre, "Hold on tight, sir," and then grabbed his arm.

Hyre's cry of "To what?" was drowned out as he and the Sage of Fire disappeared, to be replaced by a shimmering orb of red light. The other four sages, too, vanished, with their respective spheres of colour taking their places. And off they went…

* * *

"Why is there an owl here?" Farore asked, pointing at it, with her head still upside-down

"Why not, Far?" Din asked, without turning around. "Why can't owls stop to rest here, too?"

"You idiot," Farore said, lightly punching Din on the arm, "owls are _nocturnal_ animals. _It's the middle of the day_. And, call me paranoid, but I think it's _looking_ at us."

"You're paranoid," Din said, and continued not looking at the owl. "Maybe your blood's just rushing to your head."

The owl tilted its head and blinked, and Farore picked her head up from over the bench.

There was some faint talking from unfamiliar voices behind them, and this time, Din turned around. Indeed, there was an owl sitting atop the large welcome sign.

Shuffling in through the entrance was the most peculiar entourage Farore had witnessed aside from a concert. There were six of them – a Zora, a Goron, a Gerudo, and what seemed to be three Hylians. The Hylian male seemed vaguely familiar.

"Good different or bad different?" asked the tall, greying woman to her friend.

The man responded, "Just _different_, I guess. I'm certainly not used to that sort of travel."

As the man looked down the road at them, she saw his face, and immediately recognized him…

* * *

"_Are we there yet?"_

"_Shut up, Far."_

"_C'mon it's a simple question!"_

"_No, we're not there yet, we just started walking."_

"_How much further is it, then?"_

_Din stopped walking in irritation, and Nayru glanced over her shoulder, giggling. "Will you grow up, Far?" Din asked angrily, and Farore frowned._

"_What's wrong with not wanting to walk this ridiculous distance?" she retorted, following after their sister._

_Farore was right; the three women had been walking for days, at Nayru's insistence, and it had certainly been an experience to remember. At least, their legs certainly wouldn't forget any time soon._

"_It's not _my_ fault that we had to go _over_ the mountain. But it certainly was nice of the village… what was it called again? Karico?"_

"_Kakariko Village," Nayru said helpfully._

"_Yes, that's the one. It was certainly nice of Kakariko Village to lend us a few beds for the next few nights, even if they're a bit rickety. Far, are you even listening?" Din turned to look at her sister – or rather, where her sister should have been. "Wait, where'd you go?" she said, and then spotted Farore standing a good ten paces back, staring at the top of a large tree. "Nayru, hold on a tick, would you?"_

"_We're never go—" Nayru started, but stopped when she realized that her sisters weren't bickering now, and watched Farore with an expression of mild interest._

_Slowly, Din approached the green-haired woman, who stood perfectly still, as if frozen in place. "C'mon, Far, it's just a tree…" She reached out a hand to grab her sister's arm, but was swatted away. Farore eyed the tree strangely._

"_Hello?" Farore called, and Din smacked a hand to her face._

"_We don't have _time_ for this, Far," she said, agitated, and threatened to walk away completely. Farore, however, ignored her._

"_That's an odd coincidence," Farore muttered, "who would name you_ that_?"_

_Her questions must have alerted something in the tree, and Din dove for cover. With a _thud_, a man landed on the ground. As he struggled to his feet, he said aloud, "Note to self: Never jump from the tree again." Farore let a small giggle loose, but regained her stern look almost instantly. "Judging by your lack of surprise, you were expecting me. How did you know I was there?" the man asked curiously._

_He was roughly six feet tall, and wore a battered and bruised brown cloak that seemed to be almost smothered in pockets. But despite the state of his clothes, and the fact that he was apparently living in a tree, he was still well-groomed; his hair and beard were recently trimmed, and his shoes seemed fairly new._

_Farore looked at him and tilted her head, as though to get a better look at him. "I—I saw your shadow on the ground," she lied. "And, judging by the fact that you're down here from your tree, you knew I was here," she added. Din threw up her hands in irritation as she realized that her sister had now started a _conversation_ with a man living in a tree._

"_You weren't exactly hard to miss," the man said. "'Far', is it? And one of you is 'Nayru'? I'm guessing 'Far' is just a nickname for 'Farore', right? That would make the red-headed girl over there 'Din', I suppose. Some parents you must have had, naming you after the Goddesses."_

_Farore stood there, still thinking, so the man continued. "Anyway, why did you lie? You didn't see me in the shadow – you weren't even looking at the ground when you stopped."_

_Such a blatant dismission of her lie provoked Farore to response. "Wait, you were _watching_ us?" she asked, trying to seem offended, but the man simply shrugged._

"_There isn't usually much going on here nowadays. Every week or so, a boy comes by with a wheelbarrow from the south, but other than that, you don't get much happening in this part of the kingdom – except for the Gerudo, of course. People are afraid of travelling alone, and even large groups are cautious about how far they stray from civilization. So when something of interest happens, which is pretty much anything other than the usual, I tend to watch. So now I ask you again: why did you stop?"_

_Farore frowned, and looked at her sisters. Din was scribbling in her notebook – probably writing more notes for tomorrow – and Nayru was humming to herself, watching the conversation with vague interest. She turned back to the stranger, and said, "The same way I know your name," she stole a glance at Nayru, who could hear what they were saying, and finished with, "'Hyre'. It's because…" Farore took a deep breath, and said, "It's because I'm the Oracle of Secrets."_

_The man named Hyre simply stared at her, his face awed by this knowledge. When he regained the use of his mouth, he asked, "Wait, so you know all of my secrets? You know where I'm from and what I'm trying to do?"_

_Farore shook her head. "I don't know everything, that's not quite how it works. Some things are more…hidden than others, but for someone of your apparent age, the web you've spun around yourself is quite thick, and it intrigued me."_

_Hyre ran a hand across his face in thought at what Farore said, and after a pause, asked, "Is there any chance you could help me, then? I lost something – some_one_, a while ago, and I need to find him. He saved these lands once, and I'm afraid that if he isn't found soon, he can't help if anything were to happen again. Knowing this place, it's just a matter of time…"_

"_No, I'm sorry," Farore apologized. "There's nothing I can do – it doesn't work that way."_

"_It's okay," Hyre said with a sigh. "I didn't really expect you could, and at this point, I don't think there's anyone who _can_. He's been missing for almost three years, now." He took a deep breath, and said, "Anyway, I assume that your sisters are also Oracles, am I correct?" It was obvious that Farore was hesitant to answer, so he added, "I won't tell anybody if you wish. As I suppose you know, I can keep secrets."_

_Farore let out a snort of laughter, and said, "Yeah, I suppose you can. Nayru's the Oracle of Ages and Din's the Oracle of Seasons…"_

"_Hmm…" Hyre paused in thought for a moment, before he said abruptly, "Sorry if I seem intrusive. I'm plagued with curiosity about certain things."_

_She nodded, and the ensuing awkward silence indicated that their conversation had just about reached its limit. She pointed over her shoulder at her sisters, and said, "I – I guess I should probably be going, then. You wouldn't by any chance know the way to Kakariko Village, would you? Our 'accommodations'," Farore made sure to emphasize the sarcasm with which she stressed the word, "await us…"_

"_Actually, if you're looking for an Inn for the next few days, I would recommend the Lon Lon Ranch. It is run by a nice young woman and her father, and, judging by your luggage, you're running the show in Castle Town tomorrow night, so it's actually a bit closer than Kakariko Village. Unless I'm mistaken, of course," he added hastily, in case he overstepped his bounds, and pointed to the east. "There's a bridge just over there that'll take you across the river, and keep going for a bit longer and you'll reach the stairs –"_

"_Oh, that's right," Farore said, groaning, "stairs. Which way is it to this Lon Lon Ranch, then?" Farore picked up her bag, and began hauling it over to her sisters._

_Hyre smiled, and pointed behind him. "Go south for an hour, maybe an hour and a half and you should get there."_

"_Thank you very much," she said with a smile. She turned to her sisters, and said, "Let's go."_

"_Done flirting with the man?" Din asked, and put her booklet back inside her pocket. Hyre offered a hand to the two sitting sisters, but Din stood up on her own. But when Nayru grasped his arm, she didn't get up; instead, her body seemed to lock in place. There was a moment's pause before she leapt to her feet of her own accord, and took a good step away from him. She had a blank look in her eye, but a terrified expression on her face. "Oracle of Ages, you said?" Hyre asked of Farore, worried. "What exac—" _

"_You _TOLD_ him?!" Din shouted angrily at Farore, and nearly hit Hyre in the face with her flailing arms._

"_He won't tell, Ruckus, calm down. We have more important issues, anyway." She pointed at her oldest sister, who hadn't moved, except to twitch. Slowly, Nayru's trance broke, and she backed against a tree, breathing heavily._

"_What happened?" Hyre asked her, slowly, and was careful not to provoke her again._

_After a few seconds, Nayru put words to her thoughts again, and said, "I… I felt w-water, like a flood. There was lots of water, everywhere, b-but it was distant, like it wasn't c-c-coming for a while. I don't und-understand why I felt it when I grabbed your hand…"_

"_Nayru, why are _you_ telling him, too?"_

_Nayru hushed her sister with her hand, and, through her still-quickened breaths, said, "He knows already."_

_Hyre spoke this time, worried, saying, "Are you sure that's what it was?"_

"_Y-yes," Nayru said. "It's pretty hard to confuse something like that."_

"_I wouldn't know," Hyre said, frowning._

"_It's…_water_," Farore said, as though it were obvious._

"_Yes, well," Hyre said, taking a deep breath and looking at Nayru, "If this is true, then I have to go stop it. But why was it me?"_

"_I don't know," Nayru said, shaking her head. She seemed to be breathing normally again, but shied away from Hyre whenever he looked at her._

_Hyre looked up, and said, "Then I wish you a safe journey and lots of luck. I'm sorry I had to put you through that."_

_With that, the man hurried away, and disappeared behind a tree.

* * *

_

"I _knew_ I recognized him from somewhere," Farore said, looking at Hyre. "He's that guy from this morning, though it feels like it's been a lot longer than that, now, doesn't it?" Though, something felt a bit strange to Farore. It wasn't his company, or the fact that he managed to gather such a unique group of people in such a short time, but rather something _felt_ wrong, like she'd been betrayed. She turned to Nayru, whose reaction would be less explosive. "I think one of the others knows our secret," she said.

Her plan failed miserably, however. "This is _your_ fault, you know!" Din said angrily. In an attempt to ignore her sister, Farore noticed that the owl she'd seen before had flown off….

"More guests," said Ingo from behind them, "or are you here for a short rest?"

"Just a rest, thanks," said Hyre. He muttered something to the woman next to him, and looked in their direction – no, _at_ them – and the two started approaching them. Farore ducked her head down in the exceedingly vain hope that Hyre would simply forget why he was here.

The door to the inn swung open, and Malon's sweet voice spoke. "Did you say 'more guests,' Ingo? Oh my, what a group we have here today!"

Hyre and Impa stopped walking. "No, miss, I'm sorry but we're not staying. We have important business to which we must attend, but thank you for your offer."

"Wait a second, I know you…" Farore looked back at the group again, and saw that Malon was looking at Hyre with a vague recognition on her face. "Yeah, you're the guy from two years ago who found Epona! Did you find Link yet?"

Hyre hung his head, and said, "No, I'm afraid I haven't." He looked up and continued, "But that's part of why I'm here now, actually. Have you heard any news about him since then?"

"I haven't, either, sorry."

"If I may interrupt," the woman said abruptly, "why are we _here_?"

Hyre turned to look at her, and raised a hand to point at Farore, who ducked for the cover of the bench. "We're here to speak to them. If you'll excuse me, Miss Malon, we have important matters to discuss with them."

"Wait a minute, I know her," Nayru said, and Farore looked at her sister. "She's that Impa woman who visited Labrynna a few years back, I think."

Din turned around at the mention of the woman's name. "Hey, she came to Holodrum, too."

Nayru and Din stood up as they approached, and Farore reluctantly did, too. "Hello again, mister," Nayru said, and took a small step backwards. "I see you found some help. And it's good to see you again, Impa, though you're looking a bit thinner."

"Excuse me?" Impa said, surprised. "I don't believe we've met before. Please jog my memory…"

"I met you eight years ago, in Labrynna, when Queen Ambi built her tower. Don't you remember? Does the Harp of Ages ring any bells?" When it became apparent that Impa didn't remember Nayru's events, Din chimed in.

"Do you remember when you came to visit Holodrum, only to find General Onox and his destruction? Does 'Rod of Seasons' mean anything to you?"

Impa shook her head, and looked at Hyre, whose face was scrunched up in thought. "No, I'm sorry, but I don't remember either of you or these events. I don't remember any harp or staffs, but I know about the _Oracle_ of Ages and _Oracle_ of Seasons, and I suppose you would be them."

"Hello, don't forget about me. I'm the Oracle of Secrets. Don't worry, you probably wouldn't remember me, because I sat around by myself while this happened because _nobody sent anyone to come get me_ during either crisis," Farore said angrily. "But I think you actually _don't_ remember them…"

Impa shook her hand and said, "That's not important right now. I came to ask you a few questions, because _this_ guy isn't the most reliable source of information." She nodded at Hyre, who shrugged.

"First, did you see Hyre this morning?" Farore nodded her head awkwardly. There wasn't any point in hiding it, she figured, but it seemed an awful lot like an interrogation. "Second, did you tell him something about a flood?"

Again, Farore nodded, but Nayru said, "Not a flood, per se, just lots of water. How he interpreted it is up to him."

"Do you believe me now?" Hyre asked, and Impa, resigned to the fact that he was telling the truth, nodded.

"That's it?" Din asked. "That was a complete waste of time, I hope you know," she said, and sat herself down on the bench again.

Farore looked at her sister, and said, "Don't mind her; she's had a rough morning. But she's right: that was pretty pointless."

"Sorry about that," Impa said with a shrug. "This wasn't the outcome I was expecting; he keeps lying about the important stuff, so I thought I'd call him on it again. I'm sorry I interrupted your morning like that. If I ever do remember what you ladies were talking about, I'll be sure to let you know, though."

Hyre and Impa turned to walk away, but heard a low gasp. "Oh my goodness, not again_,_" Farore said, disturbed.

They looked back, and saw that Nayru's eyes were closed, but she seemed to be in pain. When she spoke, it was hoarse, as though she were trying to suppress the voice within her. She said, "Things are happening; events are being set in motion that took aeons to prepare. Everything that happened ten years ago was just the beginning, and _this_ is the dawn of our world's future. We have a choice: Face a near-eternal struggle that will consume generations upon generations, or succumb, and allow the darkness to swallow it up."

"This better not be a hoax," Impa said, raising an eyebrow. Farore gave her a look of fury at her comment, and Impa realized that perhaps it was real, after all.

"We can die in bravery in the fight for our right to survive, or we can live in fear as that right is stripped away from us." With that, Nayru fell limp, and Din caught her before she collapsed.

"Okay, _now_ I believe you," Impa said, looking at the distraught look on Hyre's face.

"I think we'd better get going," Hyre said, and finally tore his eyes away from the Oracle of Ages. He and Impa returned to the rest of the Sages, where Ruto and Saria were reminiscing about Link and, with the exception of Saria, their brief, but memorable, encounters with him.

"It was nice meeting you two. I wish you a safe journey, and I really hope you find him!"

"We will, don't worry! Goodbye, Malon."

Hyre looked at Malon, and said, "It's good to see you again, Miss Malon, and I'm sorry that I have to cut this short. But before I go, I want to let you know something: if you hear anything about Link, _anything_ that could aid in our search for him, I want you to tell the owl. That's it – just tell the owl, and you can consider the message delivered."

With that, Hyre and the troupe left a confused Malon behind.

"It seems like you've got some more competition, Iketh. That Malon girl seems to like Link just as much as I do!"

* * *

At first, all there was were blurry shapes and noises.

"Are you sure she's alive?"

"I think so; I can see her breathing, and that feels like a pulse to me."

"You got the water, right? Alright, give some to her, but make sure she doesn't choke on it."

"Hey, look, I think she's waking up!"

The noises had organized themselves into coherent speech, but the shapes refused to cooperate. What appeared to be something orange was holding what appeared to be something gray containing something blue, but she couldn't be too certain.

The gray thing turned out to be a bucket, and the blue thing turned out to be water, and the orange thing turned out to be a person pouring said water into her mouth.

"Nice of you to finally join us, lady," said one of the orange figures that slowly morphed into the face of a woman with red hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Waddoo tawkn abot?" she mumbled, and tried to get up, but was restrained. "What are you talking about?" she said again.

"You've been out cold since Mutoh here found you a few hours ago. I've been watching over you since then. My name's Anju. What's your name?"

"Name… my name is, uh…" She trailed off and put a hand to her head as she tried to remember. "Impa, there we go. My name is Impa."

Anju smiled at her, and said, "What a coincidence, there's another woman named Impa who used to live here." Then she frowned, and said, "Now that you mention it, you look a bit similar to her. Are you two related, by any chance?"

But the woman wasn't listening. "She lives here?" she said, and pushed Anju's protesting hands away as she struggled to get up. As she hobbled to the door, a man came through and said, "Anju – oh, excuse me, ma'am – we have company: a large group of people, by the looks of it. They'll be here in a moment."

The woman could still hardly see her surroundings, but she knew the village so well that she didn't need to. She fought not to collapse, but she was running out of strength. "Must find Impa…" she said, and crumpled to the ground.

She heard a cry, and the sound of someone running. The older, but still familiar face of Impa appeared above her, and she smiled, but her smile was not returned.

Instead, Impa stared in shock at the woman in her arms. "Yrma?"


	13. The Last of the Sheikah

Book One: The Rescue of the Saviour

By Gabriel B

Chapter Thirteen: The Last of the Sheikah

Hyre let go of Darunia's shoulders as they landed beside the large stone staircase outside Kakariko village. He shook his head and said, "I don't think I'll ever get used to this…"

Somewhere on the edge of her perceptions, Nabooru heard Saria ask, "Do we really have to climb this entire thing?" Nabooru mentally glared at Saria and Ruto, and tried to tune them out. But she smiled in amusement as Ruto toppled backwards in an attempt to race her friend up the stairs. "You've got to lean forward," Saria said, and demonstrated.

Ruto brushed some dirt off her blouse and said, "I figured that much out, thanks." Saria reached out a hand, which Ruto gladly took, and pulled up her friend. Nabooru shook her head and followed Impa, who was surprisingly far ahead of them.

At last, Impa reached the top, and was promptly stopped by two guards. "Who are you and what is the purpose of your trip to Kakariko Village?"

Her response was rehearsed; "I'm Impa, last of the Sheikah, and I'm visiting my home, with some allies, to continue my duties as protector of the royal family and its dependencies."

The guards gave each other a curious look. One of them laughed, and said, "This is a joke, right?" When Impa gave him a blank stare, he said, "There _is_ no Impa of the Sheikah. That's just a test they give us to make sure we remember people's descriptions." When she insisted that she was, indeed, Impa, they shrugged and said, "Fine, whatever. You're clear to go inside, and I guess they are, too." They opened the locked gate that guarded the village, and, after three years, Impa finally returned home. But instead of bounding forward, like they expected she would, she simply stood there, inside the barricade, and stared.

After a few moments, Nabooru joined her at the top, and nodded to the guards as they let her pass. It had been three years since she last saw this place, which had also been the first. But unlike last time, she wasn't hiding from view with the Sages; she was standing at the entrance, having been welcomed in to the glorious Village of the Sheikah, Kakariko Village. While Nabooru had never been one for greenery and cool breezes, even she had to admit that it was visually pleasing; the colours were from a pallet much larger than the one used to paint Gerudo Valley; that was for certain. In particular, it was the tree in the middle of the village that caught her attention.

It wasn't a particularly spectacular tree; it was just the fact that it was there. The forest from which they had just emerged, full of trees just like it, didn't matter. Nabooru shook her head and reminded herself that, unlike the Gerudo Valley, trees were plentiful here. Once again, life proved to be unfair to her people. She gritted her teeth and wrenched her eyes away from the tree, and instead looked at the rest of the village. They stood on a dirt walkway, which ran around the thing which she was pointedly ignoring, and on through a central walkway. The houses seemed to be arranged outward from a single point in semicircles, almost like an amphitheatre, with a large windmill behind them. The walkway wound around the back of the village, which seemed considerably darker, and Nabooru felt that whatever was back there was probably better off left alone.

A woman in a red uniform, carrying a bag over her shoulder, walked by, and gave Nabooru a strange look. When she returned the look, the woman looked away quickly and hurried of, apparently eager to be somewhere else.

"It's been a while since we've had any Goron visitors," said one of the guards as Darunia finally made it to the top, out of breath.

Finally, Impa rediscovered how to operate her legs, and started walking forward. Nabooru noticed that her gaze was directed at a heavy-set man, a few dozen yards away, who gave them a slight nod as he opened a door to one of the houses. A ragged-looking figure rushed past him and stumbled forward, and Nabooru realized something was wrong.

The figure muttered something before crumpling to the ground, exhausted, and Impa yelped. Forgetting her reluctance, Impa rushed to the side of the person, who Nabooru now saw was a woman of about Impa's age.

Impa turned the woman over, so that she was lying on her back. She had been visibly weakened by something; her breathing was heavy, and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. The woman didn't appear to have any serious physical wounds; rather, she was just bruised and dirty. But Impa's face bore a look of shock, as though what she was seeing was impossible. "Yrma?" she said after a moment. _Yrma…_, Saria thought. _Why does that name sound familiar?_

"Oh, by Nayru's Love, is she okay?" said a red-haired woman, hurrying out of the house after the fallen lady. "She's so weak; I didn't think she should be outside so soon." She knelt down beside Impa and carefully lifted Yrma's head and shoulders off the ground in an attempt to get her to sit upright.

"Thank you, Anju, she'll be fine with some rest," said Impa.

"How did you –" Anju began, but she looked at Impa and answered her own question. "By the Goddesses, you're _back_! You're safe! We all thought we'd never see you again after you disappeared! What _happened_ to you?"

Impa shook her head, dismissing the questions. "Never mind me, I'll explain later. What happened to Yrma?"

"She… Yrma… she said _her_ name was Impa – I don't know what happened, she stumbled down the mountain last night and one of the guards brought her to my house."

Saria hurried over and placed a hand on Yrma's forehead. "She's burning up – Iketh, get her some water." Ruto nodded, and hurriedly rummaged through her bag to find a cup, which she filled with water and handed to Saria. "Thanks – here you go, Yrma," Saria said, pouring it into her mouth. Yrma weakly opened her eyes and attempted a smile, but failed.

Impa whispered to the woman, "Get some rest; Anju will take care of you until I can return again." She looked up at Anju, who smiled, and Impa said, "Let's get her inside. She'll feel better if she lies down on a bed rather than the ground." Anju nodded, and she and Impa picked Yrma off the ground. _I've heard that name before_; Saria thought to herself with a frown.

"What's wrong with her?" Ruto asked, watching with concern as the comatose woman was carried inside. "She didn't _look_ like she'd been seriously hurt."

Nabooru seemed to share Ruto's concern. "From the looks of it, she suffered from exhaustion. I've seen it countless times before in the training camps back home. And if that woman, Anju, was right, and she _did_ come from the other side of the mountain, chances are that she's been running for at least a day, and that would make _anyone_ tired."

Saria looked behind her to see what Hyre was doing, but he wasn't there; instead, he was staring intently down a well, as though trying, through sheer force of will, to make something burst out of it.

"Excuse me," he said, turning to a nearby man as he passed by, "who's the, I don't know, mayor of this village? Who has been in charge of the goings-on since Impa left?"

The man paused for a moment, and then said, "That would be Mutoh, the engineer. He's not actually our mayor, though; we're not really large enough of a community to warrant such a position. He's just rather assumed the position when Impa didn't return after the war." Hyre nodded and thanked the man, then went back to staring down the well. It took the commotion that began shortly thereafter to break him out of his reverie.

"I said _stand aside_, solider, or I will _make_ you!"

Off to the left, by another pathway out of the village, stood two of the village guards, being berated by another man in a fancy-looking uniform that Nabooru recognized as Hylian military, probably army, but she couldn't identify the uniform itself. Instead of the light silver plating Kakariko's soldiers wore, the man wore a full-body suit of armour, complete with golden shield and sheathed sword, in addition to the spear he carried. Three more guards stood behind him, each with an identical outfit, and Saria hid behind Nabooru for safety.

When the guard refused to move, he was shoved mercilessly out of the way by the incoming men. He pulled out a whistle, and an ear-splitting sound rang in Nabooru's head. She tried covering her ears, but it didn't help; the sound was still too loud to block out. When it finally stopped, she found the village a lot more crowded than it had just been. Citizens of all ages had poured out of their homes, each taking up arms in defence of their city. Only Anju and Impa failed to respond to the call. And Hyre, being himself, walked straight up to the intruders, defenceless.

"Is there a problem, soldiers?" Hyre asked politely, as though he were asking about the weather.

"My name is Lieutenant Aleph, and these are Lieutenants Beth, Gimel, and Daled. Under Royal Decree, we demand that your turn Impa over to us, or we will take her by force."

Hyre's pleasant expression dropped, and Saria's blood turned to ice. "Excuse me?" Hyre said, after a moment.

"The woman who came this way this morning – either you will give her up willingly, or I will _make_ you!" Lieutenant Aleph lowered his spear threateningly.

Hyre waved a hand at Aleph, apparently not concerned with such petty weaponry, and said, "I'm afraid you're not making any sense. That woman is not –"

"_Do not defy me_!" Lieutenant Aleph tossed away his spear and swung his sword at Hyre, but Hyre was waiting for it, with his own sword out in defence. Azurewrath's familiar faint blue glow felt almost restless, as if itching to sink itself into flesh, and it disturbed her.

"You were too slow; instead of making a show of grabbing your sword, you should just take it and strike." Hyre was taunting Aleph now, but seemed to be otherwise disinterested in the situation.

"Lieutenants Beth and Daled, _occupy_ the villagers. Gimel, find her. Impa's escapade has ended." Aleph took another swing, and Hyre blocked again with only mild interest.

"Beth, I'll take the Gerudo," said Lieutenant Daled with a smile, nodding at Nabooru. Lieutenant Daled drew a sword and pointed it at Nabooru, who unsheathed her sabre and stood ready for an attack. "Well, well, well, Nabooru the traitor shows herself again after all these years," Daled said with glee, and tossed off the military helmet and threw away the shield, revealing a ponytail of blood-red hair and tanned skin, revealing herself to be Gerudo, as well. "You never knew how good you had it, did you?" Daled lunged for Nabooru's stomach, but the Sage of Spirit jumped out of the way, and threw up her sabre to block Daled's slice. "You could have had _any_ position in His army, but you had to _resist_, you had to _do the 'noble' thing_."

Nabooru pushed Daled back, and retorted, "He was killing _innocent people_!" She landed a kick on Daled's shin with a _clunk_, but lost her footing and fell.

"He was the closest we've _ever been_ to fulfilling our purpose, our destiny as a _race_!" She put her weight into thrusting her sword through Nabooru's head as she emphasized the last word, and used the handle as a pivot to turn her momentum into smashing her foot into Nabooru's face as she rolled away. "We've waited _millennia_ for that chance, and _YOU RUINED IT!_" Daled pulled the sword from the ground and in one smooth motion, flung it at Nabooru, who was still recuperating from the kick.

There were gasps from the villagers, but Nabooru didn't hear them. One of the men even managed to escape from Lieutenant Beth, and tackled Daled to the ground, but she didn't see that. Her jaw throbbed in pain, but she didn't feel that, either. All that existed to her was the sword hurtling at her, and all she could do was duck, but she knew she would be too slow. She saw the sword, ready to cut her apart; she heard the whistling of the air against the razor-sharp blade; she felt the point on her face where she knew she would be impaled, and the only thing she could feel was fear.

With a puff of smoke and a loud clang, Lieutenant Daled's sword stopped short of Nabooru's cheek, with Impa's glowing arm in the way. "What, you didn't think I'd leave you out here to get killed by the Royal Guard, did you?" Impa said with a smirk, and Nabooru, breathing a sign of relief, gave her an equally devious, albeit weak, grin.

"Get Gimel; he's looking for her," Nabooru said, and Impa nodded. Nabooru raised her own sword and prepared to return the pain. Daled found her shield, held it up, and charged forward, forcing Nabooru to move to the side. Daled retrieved her sword, and made to slash at Nabooru again, but a scream of incredible pain rang through the village.

Lieutenant Aleph was on the ground, with Hyre's sword, minus its usual blue glow, cutting into his right arm. Nabooru watched in pity as Aleph tried to twitch, but the entire right side of his body was frozen in place. His left arm and leg flailed wildly, but Hyre dug the sword in deeper and the scream grew louder.

Then the noise died, as Hyre pulled the sword out of Aleph's arm. Though Nabooru couldn't see his face, she saw the fury in his motions as he swung the once-again-blue sword around to the other side, to torment the soldier further. But before he could bury the blade once again into flesh, someone called to him.

"Hyre, _stop_!" shouted a voice, and the sword froze. "Look at what you're doing!"

Nabooru's gaze remained firmly placed on Aleph, for she already knew to whom the voice belonged, and the girl's bravery frustrated her. "Look at him! You've hurt him enough as it is; do you really think you need to torture him even more?" Saria ran in front of Hyre, and looking at the fear in her eyes, Nabooru almost felt sorry for the soldier. Even Daled, who had come within an inch of killing Nabooru, looked at her sword and wondered what she was doing.

Hyre hadn't moved a muscle since Saria stopped him, but Azurewrath's tip was visibly shaking, as if begging to taste blood and flesh again. "Hyre, _look at me!_ Stop this, please!" Saria begged, and Hyre's arm relaxed.

Nabooru took advantage of the diffusion of the situation and swung around, ready to take a good hack at Daled's arm, but Daled had found the same opportunity, and their swords collided.

Daled smirked, and said, "I see you've been training in your absence. Too bad you're still a lousy warrior!" She brought her shield around to crash into Nabooru's arm, but this time, the Sage of Spirit was ready. She leapt backwards, and when Daled lost her footing when her shield bumped into her own sword, Nabooru charged forward and pounded the soldier's shoulder, which gave a satisfying _crack_.

"I see _you_ haven't been," Nabooru said, spitting at Daled's feet as the Gerudo soldier screamed in pain at the dislocation.

"Bring her over here," said Impa's voice, and Nabooru saw that Lieutenants Aleph and Gimel were slumped together, unconscious, and the villagers seemed to have taken Beth somewhere, as neither she nor they were anywhere to be found.

Nabooru grabbed Daled by the elbow, and being careful not to pull hard enough to set anything back into its socket, led the screaming soldier over to her comrades. Impa unceremoniously shoved Daled onto the ground. "Now, talk," she said, and, with Darunia's help, reset Daled's shoulder.

A full minute passed, which was more than enough time for Daled to control her hyperventilation, but instead of talking, she spat at Impa's feet. "You don't scare me," she said.

Hyre stood up, and, ignoring Saria's protests, squatted down in front of her and said, "Maybe she doesn't scare you, but how about this?" He pulled out his sword, and Saria shrieked. She grabbed his arm to prevent him from cutting Daled, but she recoiled anyway.

"Hyre, don't," Saria said.

"We just wanted the Sheikah," Daled said quickly, and squirmed backwards, but Darunia's bulk was in the way.

Impa frowned, and said, "If you wanted to talk to me, you should have just asked; you didn't need to assault us."

"Not _you_, you idiot, we wanted Impa, the woman who passed through here this morning. We know she came through here, and your little defence act told us she never left."

Hyre paused for a moment, and looked at his sword. "You know, if you're not telling the truth, I could make you regret it in an instant. But my friends would get mad at me, and I still need their help for a bit, so I probably shouldn't piss them off."

Daled looked at Hyre, who had a genuine look of insanity on his face, and said, "By Din's Fire, I swear that that's everything – we needed a Sheikah, and since Impa was the last one, we were ordered to locate and collect her."

"Well, she's not here," said Impa, and Hyre turned around curiously. "So here's what you're going to do: you're going to go back to your commander, and you're going to tell him that Impa is not in Kakariko Village, and you will take your search elsewhere. And if you return, well…" Impa gave a mischievous grin to the unconscious men on the ground, "if you return, you probably won't see your comrades alive again."

Nabooru gasped, and pulled Impa to the side. "What do you think you're doing?" she whispered angrily. "You realize that the moment any of them leave this city, they'll bring the entire _squadron_ here in a manhunt for Yrma _and_ for us!"

"I'm giving us time to get Yrma out of here safely. The army won't actually attack unless there's resistance, and I figure that if we're gone by the time the army gets here, the village will be safe."

"What do you suggest we do with her, then? We can hardly just _bring her along_! She can barely stand, and by the time she gets better, the squadron will be back!" Nabooru could hardly believe that it was Impa who was suggesting such a crazy plan.

"We can take her to the Leviathans," Hyre suggested, appearing behind Impa. "If we can bring her with us to Goron City, when we leave we can take her directly there."

Impa shuffled to the side to allow Hyre to join their conversation, and asked, "Where exactly _is_ 'there', and will she be safe?"

"There are a few entrances whose locations I know, the most viable of which is down the side of Death Mountain. As for whether or not she'd be safe…" Hyre paused, and stuck a hand in one of his many pockets, and pulled out a bright golden coin, "I still have Rauru's medallion. Best case scenario is they accept me as Rauru's messenger and nurse her back to health. Worst case is…" Hyre trailed off, apparently at a loss for words.

"Go on, don't leave us hanging like that," Nabooru said, raising an eyebrow.

"Worst case scenario is that the lieutenant and her friends won't get the Sheikah they're looking for."

"You're _mad_!" Impa said, eyes bulging. "I can't believe I agreed to help you on your insanity quest!"

Nabooru tuned out Impa's response; she didn't need to hear any more of their quarrelling. She instead turned to focus on Daled, who was glaring directly at her. Daled mouthed some words at her, but Nabooru couldn't tell what she was saying; she was too far away. Instead, she simply smiled at the captured soldier, mocking her.

Apparently some sort of agreement was made between Hyre and Impa, for Impa said, "Fine, but I'm telling you, if my sister gets hurt because of your recklessness, I don't care _what_ the Leviathans might do to you, _I'm_ going to kill you!"

"That's fair enough, I suppose. Darunia, you can let go of our friend over there. She's free to leave the village."

Daled leapt up at the release of the pressure, and stood up. She walked to Nabooru, rubbing her sore wrists, and simply said, "You can't fight our destiny, Nabooru; none of us can." Leaving her equipment behind, Daled raced down the stairs, eager to get as far away from Kakariko Village as possible.

* * *

She heard the familiar knock on the door, and knew that news had arrived, but sensed that she was to be disappointed. "Come in, General," she said, without turning from the window.

The door opened, and General Tav entered the room, kneeling as soon as he was clear of the doorway. "I bring word from the field, your highness. Lieutenant Daled returns with a most… _unusual_ report."

This made the queen frown with disappointment. _But Lieutenant Daled was hardly the highest ranking officer on that mission, unless…_ "The casualties have been noted, General. But what news do you have of the Sheikah? Was the mission successful?"

"There were no casualties yet, your highness, just those wounded or captured. And no, your highness, she continues to elude our capture; they chased her out of Termina over Death Mountain, but, of course, Kakariko Village lies on the other side. Neither could _he_, nor can we take village. Its entry points are too easily defended against land troops, and its citizens have been trained in archery against any air assaults. Lieutenant Daled recounts two of them disarming Lieutenants Aleph and Gimel, and the rest of the villagers overwhelming Lieutenant Beth. The three of them have been captured."

The Queen glared at her reflection in the window, and head began to itch with irritation. The urge to kill the captain grew ever stronger, but she had to suppress it, for the sake of progress. "Thank you, General," she said with restraint. "You are dismissed." She saw in the glass the captain stand up behind her, but he did not leave.

Instead, he said, "Your highness, there _is_ one more thing." At this, the Queen turned around, and General Tav immediately dropped to his kneels again, bowing his head. "Lieutenant Daled reports that one of the defenders – one of the _swordsmen_ –" the Queen's eyes grew wide at the stress of this word, "– was carrying a glowing blue sword, and that Lieutenant Aleph, quote, 'screamed like he was being consumed with fire,' unquote, upon contact with it. She said they called him 'Hyre'."


	14. The Fall of the Kin

Volume One: The Rescue of the Saviour

By Gabriel B

Chapter Fourteen: The Fall of the Kin

"What in Nayru's Love just happened?" Saria screamed as Lieutenant Daled disappeared down the stairs. "Who were those people, why did they want to find Impa, and why didn't they know who she was?"

"They were part of the Hylian Army," said Nabooru, scowling, "but I couldn't tell which –"

"That was a new formation of the Ivrit Division," Impa said, in a tone that gave away her unease. "I recognized their armbands from my days as a protector of the Royal Family."

Saria looked at Ruto, who nonchalantly shrugged, as if saying, 'I have no idea what's going on, either, if it makes you feel any better.' "But why were they looking for you?" Saria asked. "And who's Yrma?"

Impa looked away from the stairs and at Saria. "They weren't looking for me," she said. "They weren't looking for me, they were looking for Yrma; she's my sister."

Saria suddenly felt a gnawing in her stomach, and looked away awkwardly. It seemed that today was conspiring against her to relive painful memories. Sure, it was eighteen years ago, but it was what had driven her to where she was today; it had given her purpose. And being reminded in the unpleasant way that she was made it sting.

Ruto broke Saria's train of thought, to her relief. "I thought you were the 'last of the Sheikah', though. At least, that's what you told us, isn't it?"

"I thought that I was," Impa said, barely concealing her sadness, and began walking towards Anju's house, the rest of the Sages in tow. "When I found her, when I found _everyone_, they were all dead, save a few, who didn't survive the night. I remember digging the grave for my parents, for my sister; I remember burying her body. If that's not enough to make me believe that my own family is dead, then I don't know what is."

The pain in Saria's gut grew stronger, and it took Ruto's comforting hug to help alleviate the tension. "It's okay, Newt," she said. "She wouldn't have wanted you to get upset over her like this, so keep your chin up, and make her proud."

"You don't know that," Saria said with a sour expression, but returned the hug.

Ruto crouched down and looked into Saria's eyes. "I know that Mother wouldn't have wanted _me_ to get depressed by her death, especially this long afterwards." Saria sighed and nodded, and Ruto asked, "Do you want to wait here for them?"

"No, let's go inside," Saria said and hurried after the others. It was, after all, eighteen years ago; she wouldn't let it bother her anymore.

* * *

Saria walked inside, and was struck by how peculiar it seemed to her. The inside was much more ornate than the homes back in Kakariko Village, which were merely used for shelter. Instead of a simple straw bed, there was a large mattress on an equally large wooden frame with an elaborate design. There was a beautiful table, with stools to match, and a rather comfortable-looking couch, on which Yrma was resting.

And as for Yrma herself, Saria was struck by a peculiar sense of resemblance to Impa without actually seeming all too similar. While they both had the same darkened but white hair, red eyes, and a similar complexion, that was it – where Impa was tall and lean, Yrma was a stout and somewhat short woman. Impa's face wore what seemed to be a permanent look of seriousness, but Yrma's face seemed jovial and warm. And yet, something about her screamed 'Sheikah', and Saria couldn't shake the feeling.

"What happened to your people?" Nabooru asked, concerned. "How did they die?"

Impa shook her head, and said, "I don't want to talk about it now."

"Come on, Impa," said Saria, who put a consoling hand on Impa's shoulder. "We're all here for you; there's no need to keep it all bottled up to yourself. Trust me, it hurts after a while." Impa turned to look at Saria, who gave her a friendly smile, and then turned back to Yrma.

"We were betrayed by our Guardian Spirit, Bongo Bongo, twelve years ago. I don't know why, though; before then, Bongo Bongo had always been a benevolent spirit. Back then, Kakariko Village was the home to my people, the Sheikah, and had been for centuries. I wasn't there for most of it, so I don't know the details, but I heard this… this _song_…" She pulled out a broken piece of jewellery and looked at it sadly. "It was beautiful, but sad, and it was coming from this."

Hyre reached over and took it in his hands. "May I?" he asked, and Impa nodded. Saria looked over his shoulder, and saw that it was a pendant, with the Sheikah's symbol on it, except without the teardrop. It had been broken, with a solid crack running clean through, which had split it into two pieces. "What's this?" Hyre asked, and Impa turned to look.

"What is – oh that, I don't know, I found it inside when it broke this morning." She turned away, and Hyre unfolded a small leaf of paper.

"It says 'To Hyrule: Good Luck'," he read softly, and had a distant, disappointed look in his eye, as if the luck had never come. "May I keep it?" he asked, holding up the page.

Impa shrugged and said, "Sure, I suppose; it's of no use to me, but I want the pendant back, thanks. Anyway, I heard this song, and I knew something was wrong, that something was happening. I got here as soon as I could to see if everything was okay, but the Sheikah were gone." Impa stopped, and Saria noticed she was shivering. "I heard this sound, and just outside the border, th-th-they were…"

Saria could see that she was crying, and gave Impa a comforting hug. Even Nabooru had uncrossed her arms and was looking at the women with a hint of sadness on her face.

"Everyone, th-they-they were just lying there, bleeding and dying, and th-that's when I saw them." Her face looked disgusted by her memories, but she kept talking. "I saw my parents' bodies, lying gracelessly on the ground, horrified and broken." She put a hand on Yrma's forehead, and wept unrestrainedly. "None of it felt real, none of it seemed like it was really happening, until I saw _her_ next to them."

The gnawing sensation in Saria's stomach lurched again, and she tightened her hug on the Sheikah. Saria remembered the panic, the sadness, and the anger she had felt, all those years ago, but she continued to push it back.

"I will never forget the expression on her face, either; a look of sadness which I'd never seen her wearing before, and she was cold, oh so cold…" Impa shook her head, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "One of the Elders barely survived, and told me that our guardian spirit, Bongo Bongo, was the cause, and I immediately sealed it inside the well. But I also had to… I had to bury everyone."

"In my defence, it wasn't my idea," Yrma said, and Impa bolted upright, throwing Saria off. Yrma opened her eyes, and gave her startled sister a weak smile. "Our parents wanted to protect me, b-but couldn't wait for you to realize that we needed you." She sighed, and laid her head back on the pillow. "It was Ganondorf, actually – he was the one behind everything; he just used Bongo Bongo as a way of getting to us. Ganondorf was waiting, under the guise of trying to help unite the races of Hyrule. But he was looking for someone, a Sheikah by the sound of it, with a sword, which is absurd, anyway, because Sheikah don't _use_ swords…" Impa shot a glare at Hyre, who slowly backed away.

"But our parents, they decided to protect me. They knew that Ganondorf would notice if one of us disappeared, so the Elders created a double and sent me away…" Yrma plopped her head back onto the pillow again, and closed her eyes.

The door opened, and a portly man hobbled inside. "Am I interrupting, Anju?" he asked, looking at the unusually large number of people inside the house, and Anju shook her head. "I've just come to let you know that the three soldiers we captured – wait, why are a Zora, a Goron, _and_ a Gerudo here?" he looked, wide-eyed, at the guests, and Anju shrugged. It was true; their ensemble of races seemed fairly out-of-place, but Anju seemed to be taking it in stride. "Anyway," Mutoh continued, "Aleph, Beth, and Gimel aren't talking, so they've been taken to the Temple. Dampé and I are waiting for – Farore's Wind, _you're alive_!" he added, at recognizing Impa, despite her facing the other way.

"Ah, you must be Mister Mutoh," Hyre said, interrupting the reunion before it started. "I heard you're in charge here, so we have a question to ask of you, if it's not too much trouble. I assume you remember the young man, Link, from about three years ago, correct?"

Mutoh looked at Hyre, then at Anju, and said, "Who-who _are_ you, exactly? We haven't been properly introduced yet; my name is Mutoh, and you would be?" He offered his hand, which Hyre grasped quickly, then dropped.

"Who I am isn't important; I'm a friend who's very concerned about the well-being of this kingdom and its inhabitants, and right now, my _biggest_ concern is finding the Hero of Time, so if you have any information that would help us find him, I implore you to tell us."

Mutoh frowned at Hyre, and said, "The young man, Link, you said? I do remember the boy, very well – wore a green tunic most of the time, had a little annoying fairy, but I haven't seen him in a long time. No, I'm afraid I can't help – and who says '_implore_' these days, anyway? Listen, Anju, go to Dampé when you're done; we need to talk. And Impa, it's good to have you back." Something he said struck a chord with Saria, but she couldn't place it, and before she could mention anything, Mutoh had already hurried outside. Hyre, meanwhile, looked crestfallen, and turned back to the window, thinking whatever it was he thought. Saria recalled her conversation with Hyre that morning, and realized that she still wasn't quite sure what Hyre's deal was. But the more she thought about it, the more the strange anger welled up inside her again, so she, once again, repressed her thoughts. It had been a very peculiar day so far, and it was getting weirder.

Yrma opened her eyes and looked up, and said, "Young man – Link – maybe twenty years old by now, dressed in green? I'm not sure about the annoying fairy part, but I do remember the bit about the hero, if that counts for anything."

Saria snapped her head up as she remembered, and she looked around wildly, but was disheartened to discover that her own fairy was not around. She pointed a finger at Ruto, and said, "Remind me to find Leif." She looked around, and saw the others staring at her and she blushed. "Sorry about that, I just remembered an old friend that I've to find. Please, continue."

Yrma looked up in thought, and said, "Oh, it feels like it was forever ago, but it was only about eight years. Mum and Dad had told me to keep my identity hidden, so I wasn't using my real name; everyone called me Impa, because I wanted to remind myself of my sister, and that I had to find her one day." She smiled up at Impa, whose tears returned at Yrma's recollection.

"I was friends with one of the _Oracles_ – the harpist, Nayru – at the time. However, recently, I'd been under the possession of Veran, a sorceress who sought to control, well, _everything_."

* * *

_Veran looked around the house, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything significant. Satisfied that there was nothing left of importance, she stepped outside and closed the door. _This body is helpful, but I need something a bit more powerful for me,_ Veran thought silently. The body of the woman, who called herself 'Impa', while strong in its own right, didn't suit her desires for control; only Nayru, and her gift as an Oracle, would suffice._

_Veran looked out at the Forest of Time and let out a low growl. Everything seemed to be a cheery shade of green, and it disgusted her. Her favourite colour was blue, and a dark blue, at that; bright colours were for the weak. She awaited the day of her final victory in this world to arrive, when she would acquire the powers of the Oracle of Ages, allowing her to rid this land of its wretched joy, allowing darkness to smother everything. Merely thinking about it filled her with an immense pleasure, but thinking would not bring it to pass; she needed to act, and for that she needed to get close._

_She made the first left, and hurried through the forest, preparing her boast of success. Veran knew she always had a thing for gloating, but that just made the success that much sweeter. It had to be something grand, something that screamed both 'evil' and 'extravagant', something that would make her audience cower in fear and helplessness as she not only completely destroyed their future, but their past, as well._

_But first she needed to get past the rock._

_It wasn't a particularly big rock, no more than two feet tall; though she supposed that was slightly on the large side for rocks, but the important part was that it was in the way. And normally, such a rock wouldn't have been such an issue; even without upper body strength, she would usually climb over it. She was not, however, so fortunate this time. _

_As it would appear, this particular rock had been blessed – or, from her standpoint, cursed: only those not born of darkness could touch it, and Veran being who she was, that included her._

_That was why she took this body; someone who was not affected by the spell would be able to grant her the access she needed to achieve her goal. And so, as she finally reached the only obstacle in her way, she smiled a malicious smile; Veran's ultimate glory was dawning: an eternal age of darkness, with her in complete control! Veran cackled madly, and the grass beneath her feet withered as she walked, and she thought it curious. Perhaps this person was stronger than Veran gave it credit, but it was nothing in comparison to what was waiting on the other side._

_She approached the stone, finally ready to remove the last barrier in her way. She reached a hand out in an almost loving way, and–_

"Argh!_" she screamed, as a blue lightning struck her, radiating from the carving on the rock, and forced her backwards. "This was supposed to _work_!" Veran yelled, and, in a fit of rage, assaulted the boulder with a barrage of fiery-red orbs, each exploding with enough force to level the Maku Tree itself, but the boulder remained firmly in place, unmoved by the frenzy. As the smoke faded, the rock showed a resolute blue glow that taunted her, as if saying, "You'll never get past me."_

_And then she heard it: a strange buzzing noise from the southeast, and she suddenly felt a powerful presence nearby. An idea struck her; she was certainly desperate now, but if she could use this person to grant her access to Nayru, then perhaps this body would not be totally useless._

_She acted quickly – summoning a few octoroks would certainly get his attention, and if the courage she felt emanating from him was any indication, the brave person he was would come to her aid. "HELLLLP!!!" she screamed._

_A young boy, no older than twelve, and clad in a green tunic barged forward, and Veran silently gave the signal for the octoroks to flee. She put on her most convincing scared expression, and said, "That was frightening! I was attacked… thank you, traveller. What is your name?"_

_The boy nervously ran his hand through his hair and stuttered, "Uh, my name is Link."_

"_Link, is it?" Veran said and smiled. She saw a faint glimmer of light reflect off his left hand, and knew that this boy's arrival was the doing of the Goddesses. "I see a Triforce symbol on the back of your left hand. That is the sign of a Hylian Hero! That must be why the beasts fled._

"_I am Impa," Veran lied, using the supposed identity of the woman she possessed, "nurse to Hyrule's Princess Zelda." The boy frowned, but didn't respond. "I am looking for a singer named Nayru. Will you help me look, Link? I'd feel safer with you nearby." Veran put every ounce of sweetness she had into her voice, and almost wretched from the sound._

_Link nodded, and Veran followed behind him as Link pretended he knew where he was going, but there was really only one path to follow: forward. As they reached the rock, Veran leapt with glee. "Oh, that's it!" she shouted, feigning surprise, and hurried over. "This rock with the Triforce symbol is a sign!" Link curiously poked his head around Veran's back and saw. "Could you move this rock for me, Link? I'll, umm, I'll just… I can't do it." She backed away from the rock, and Link, shrugging his shoulders, pushed it out of the way without a second thought._

"_Thank you," Veran said, trying to hold back her excitement. This was it, she told herself; all she had to do was not arouse suspicion in Link for the next few minutes, and the ultimate victory would be hers. "Now, let's go," she said, and Link walked forward, with Veran in tow_

_The sound of soothing music echoed through the forest and into their ears; it filled them with a peacefulness that Veran despised, but Link seemed to love. It was only a matter of time before Veran squelched it and everything like it forever._

_Link, intrigued by this music, ran towards the beautiful sound, and found a group of animals and people, all gathered around a gorgeous, singing woman with flowing blue hair._

"Nayru," _Veran whispered to herself, as she eyed her prize. All she needed was a touch, and all that power would be hers…_

"_Nayru's the best singer in Labrynna!" one of the people in the crowd said, as Link gazed in awe at the woman._

"_Shh, I can't hear Nayru sing!" his friend said to him, and they both returned to watching he performance._

_One of the animals moved to the side, allowing Link and Veran to move closer. Veran watched in anger as Link obscured her path, entranced by the sound of this woman's voice._

"_You're Hyrule's messenger, aren't you?" a man said, pulling Link over to the side. "Your name's Link, isn't it? A bird brought message of your arrival. My name's Ralph; I'm an old friend of Nayru's. We—"_

_Veran couldn't contain herself any longer, and laughed maniacally. "You are correct! Not bad for a diva… not bad for Nayru, Oracle of Ages! Something terrible will happen right now before your very eyes!"_

Useless body_, Veran thought to herself, and the body of Impa collapsed before them. The blue tint on Impa's skin spilled off, and pooled into a figure that, in front of Link, morphed into the_ true_ form of Veran – flowing blue robes, pale skin, dark blue eyes, and black hair in a style that would have made even Ganondorf jealous._

"_Thank you, Link! You allowed me to pass through the sacred barrier! I've been waiting for this moment for _such_ a long time! My name is Veran, Sorceress of Shadows, and it's time to claim my reward! Nayru, Oracle of Ages: I will make your body my own!" With speed that impressed even herself, Veran charged forward and grabbed hold of Nayru's hand. There was a blinding flash of light, followed by the most sinister laugh Veran had ever uttered…

* * *

_

"When I awoke, Ralph and Link told me that Veran had used Nayru's power to go back in time and corrupt Queen Ambi, but on some level, I'd already known. Since I knew that Link was a Hylian Hero, I led him to find the Harp of Ages in Nayru's house, and he used it and did Farore-knows-what. But it worked; he saved all of the Labrynnans – Nayru, too. So when I went to Holodrum with the others, I invited him with me.

"There, we met Din, the Oracle of Seasons, but as fate would have it, we were just in time to see her get captured by General Onox, minion of the Twinrova sisters, who then cast the kingdom of Holodrum into turmoil. Link, being the hero that he was, sought to save the Holodric people, and most importantly, Din herself. I'll never know how he did it, but that boy did more in those few months than anyone I've known, except for the Sheikah. And then he wanted to go home, back to Hyrule. I told him that it wasn't safe there, because he told me about his exile for… whatever, but he wouldn't believe me; he insisted on returning."

"Wait a minute, Link was _exiled_?" Saria said, shocked. Yrma's story had certainly been a lot to take in at once, and it finally occurred to Saria that, while she had been waiting patiently for ten years, Link had been off on his own adventures, been through hardships, and probably met other girls. Surely he wouldn't feel the same way now as he did before the catastrophes began, right? Saria looked away in slight sadness.

Yrma nodded. "He tried warning King Daphnes about Ganondorf, probably the same one that did that to our people, but I think the King suspected he was a bit crazy. But when he kept insisting on speaking to the Princess, that's when I think King Daphnes had enough, and had him forcibly removed from the kingdom. Anyway, I told Link that if he ever changed his mind, if he ever returned to Holodrum or Labrynna, we'd find him and protect him. And he did. About three years ago, Ralph got a message from one of the animals, 'By the rock.' I assume that he kept his message brief because he was in trouble, but I knew he meant the Triforce rock that Veran had him move. Sure enough, two days later, Link showed up, saying something about being hunted, so we took him in and travelled."

"That must have been when he abandoned his horse, Epona," said Hyre, who was apparently listening very intently, "and probably when her leg broke. Please, Miss Yrma, continue."

"There isn't much else to say, I'm afraid. We visited loads of places, but never for more than a week or so. And it's a good thing, too; we would sometimes get news from villages or lands we visited, just days after we left, saying that they were raided, and often torn down in some massive, coordinated manhunt, but we always managed to stay ahead of them, until about a month ago. I still don't know how they found us, but I remember waking up to muffled cries early in the morning, and I saw some of our group being dragged away by a sizeable group of men. I and a few of the lucky ones got away, and I've been running ever since. A few days ago, I wound up in Termina, and realized that I was so close to home, but the soldiers were right behind me, so I couldn't stop to rest…"

Yrma closed her eyes, and Anju stood up and went to the kitchen. "She got here last night; one of the guards saw her, half-walking, half stumbling, down Death Mountain a little after midnight." She brought back a glass of water, which Yrma drank greedily.

"You're lucky, Miss Yrma," Hyre said, looking out a widow at the cucoo pen, and Yrma looked at him strangely.

"And why is that, mister...?"

Hyre ignored the request for his name, and said, "It's because for you, walking can take you home; I am rather less fortunate in that aspect."

"You've been saying that for a while," Impa said, and Hyre turned around, "but you haven't actually told us anything _about_ your home! I'm beginning to think that you're just saying everything you have for _pity_."

Darunia stepped forward, and said, "Impa, _please_, this is hardly the time _or_ the place!"

"Thank you, Mister Darunia," Hyre said, "but Madam Impa is right, I _have_ been going on about that much more than necessary, and I am sorry."

Impa glared for a moment at Hyre before turning back to her sister, neither of whom could resist the urge to laugh, cry, and smile, all at once.

Saria found a chair and sat down, her back turned to the others, because she couldn't bear to watch the two sisters' reunion. She hated herself for it, but deep down she felt more resentment than happiness for her friend. But what concerned her most was something she felt stirring inside of her, feeding on this emotional reservoir.

"You okay over here, Newt?" Ruto said, giving the Kokiri a hug, and the pit in Saria's stomach subsided. When Saria didn't answer, Ruto tugged her arm and said, "C'mon, let's go outside and get some fresh air. Saria let herself be pulled up and followed Ruto.

"What if she's still alive?" she burst out as soon as they were out of earshot of the others, and Ruto sighed. "What if she's in trouble, and she's been waiting on me to save her this whole time?"

Ruto frowned, and said, "I'm sorry, Newt, but we both know that she's gone –"

"_But what if she's not_?! It doesn't seem fair, why does Impa get _relief_ when I never even got _closure_ for my sister's death?"

"It's _not_ fair, Saria! It doesn't work that way; you know that and I know that, and nothing you or anyone else does is going to change it!"


	15. The Gossip of the Stones

Volume One: The Rescue of the Saviour

By Gabriel B

Chapter Fifteen: The Gossip of the Stones

Ruto breathed heavily after yelling at her friend. It was hard, having to be the one to keep Saria under control, but it was necessary, especially after the incident that morning. "Listen, Newt," she said softly, "let's put this behind us again, okay? We've got stuff to do, places to go, people to see, and more excitement to experience, and you can't enjoy it if you're upset, right?"

Saria opened and closed her mouth a few times, but didn't say anything. After a moment, she nodded her head, and Ruto smiled. "Come on, let's go back inside," she said, and grabbed Saria's hand, leading the Kokiri back to Anju's house. Ruto put a hand on the handle, but jumped back as it turned on its own and the door flew open, with Impa, apparently furious, storming off down the road, and Anju close behind her.

"What was that about?" Saria asked as she closed the door behind them.

"Oh, the just usual," Darunia said nonchalantly, and he nodded at Hyre. "This guy still isn't giving anyone straight answers and Impa's getting frustrated." Saria gave a half-smile, and sat down by Yrma.

"Uh, hello there, Yrma," she said awkwardly, "my name is Saria." Ruto noticed that Saria was turning a bright shade of red, and was filled with a mixture of giggles and jealousy. "I – I was wondering if Link – if Link ever mentioned me, you know, during the time he was travelling with you… or something."

Yrma opened her eyes and looked at Saria, first noticing how short she seemed to be compared to everyone else in the room. "Aren't you a bit, oh, _young_ for him?" she said, with a thoughtful look in her eyes, and Ruto immediately turned to look at the person behind her, away from the imminent explosion.

"Hi, Nabooru," she said instinctively, but still heard Saria scream, '_**I'M NOT A LITTLE GIRL, I'M TWENTY-THREE YEARS OLD!**_' Without missing a beat, Ruto said, "Do you think we should put a sign on her or something?" but Nabooru was otherwise preoccupied.

"Listen, Rudder, I'm not in the mood for any of your crackpot ideas, so just take your bad sense of humour and go elsewhere." Ruto frowned as Nabooru turned away, rubbing her jaw. She did, however, glance over at Yrma to hear her response.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Yrma said, sinking into the couch to avoid Saria's wrath. "Then you must be one of those Kokiri children – or a really late bloomer. Actually, I _do_ remember Link talking about you – quite a lot, as a matter of fact." Saria's face flushed a deeper red, and Ruto felt her stomach sink slightly. Perhaps it was her naïveté as a child that embarrassed her, but perhaps it was that Link hadn't taken her marriage proposal seriously.

Yrma continued, "At night, I would often find him outside, lying on the grass, and staring up at the stars, lost in thought and wonder. I remember asking him once what he was thinking about, and he said he was trying to remember the names of the patterns the stars made. It was a while ago, so I've forgotten most of them, but I still remember the talking cats…"

"_Ikethi_," Saria said, and Ruto looked up instinctively. Saria smiled, and said, "Not you, Ruto; 'ikethi' are talking animals of Kokiri legends, and it's the name of the constellation of the two cats, because they sort of look like they're talking to each other. Since you reminded me of an iketh, that's what I decided to call you."

Ruto gave Saria a smile, but frowned on the inside. Being reminded of the origin of her nickname also reminded her of how she originally felt about it – slightly insulted. As a retort, she'd nicknamed Saria after the squishy little reptile that she used to hunt as a child.

"Alright, I've had enough of this," said Darunia, interrupting Ruto's train of thought. "It's wonderful that you're content with staying here, reminiscing about days gone by, waiting for something to happen, or for Impa to find out what the Stones have to say, or for this flood to arrive, or any of a dozen _completely insane things_, but I'm not. I have a family to return to, so if you wouldn't mind, I'll be going."

Darunia made for the door, and Saria grabbed his arm to stop him, but her lightweight body did little to impede his movement. "It's not safe, Dar, is it? I mean, if those soldier guys are after Impa – or Yrma, I'm still not sure which – then they might be after the rest of us, too, right? Tell him, Hyre; tell him he can't go yet!"

"Let go, Saria," Darunia said flatly, and she released Darunia's arm and dropped to the ground. "I told you, we've spent enough time dawdling, and I can't speak for any of you, but I just want to go _home_. I'll see you again when you decide to show up." With that, he showily picked up his backpack, and grimaced in the general direction of Hyre.

"I don't suppose I need to warn you to be careful, but I'll do it anyway. Be careful," Hyre said, and Darunia grunted in affirmation, opened the door, and hurried towards the mountain path.

There was a short pause, and Nabooru, looking around hesitantly, said, "I'm going with him," and ran after him.

"What in Nayru's Love was that, and who are you people?" Yrma said, confused.

"Like I said before, I'm just a wanderer," Hyre said, leaning forward and resting his chin on his hands. "But the rest of them are the Sages." When Yrma showed no signs of recognizing the title of 'Sage', and merely raised an eyebrow in further confusion, he continued, "Gracious, you've been away for a while. A decade ago, this land was under siege by a man – Ganondorf, the one who did… all that to the Sheikah – and young Link set out to stop him, but he couldn't do it alone. Every once in… a _very_ long while, when these lands are threatened by evil, a select few people awaken as various Sages, wielders of the fundamental forces that make up everything, and their combined magic, added to the power of whichever hero has awakened them, is enough to conquer the evil."

"W—what kind of magic are we talking about, here?" Yrma asked, looking at the others in the room. None of the Sages looked particularly exceptional, so Ruto smiled and raised a palm.

"Take a look for yourself," Ruto said, and a shimmering beam of golden light fell to her hand from the ceiling, and a twirling blue disc drifted down. She grabbed it, and held it out to Yrma to see. "This is a Water Medallion, which holds a piece of my power as the Sage of Water. Here's a little demonstration." Ruto grabbed Yrma's empty glass and held the medallion over the top, and a stream of sparkling water filled the cup to its brim. She gave Yrma a smile and handed both the glass and the medallion Yrma. "That's just in case you get thirsty again," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, but I don't plan on going anywhere without running water for a while," she said, and gestured to her bruises. "Try giving it to Tall, Dark, and Nameless over here. A wanderer never knows when he might find himself in need of some fresh water."

Ruto held out the medallion for Hyre to take. "May I?" he asked, and Ruto nodded. "Thanks," said Hyre, who pocketed the blue disc in one of his cloak's many pockets.

The door opened again, and Impa entered, with a concerned look on her face. "I've got – wait, where did Darunia and Nabooru go?" she asked, looking around the room.

Saria answered, "Darunia got impatient – he couldn't wait any longer, I guess. He's probably home already. Nabooru… well, she's Nabooru; she got bored and went after him."

Yrma attempted to prop herself up on the couch, and said, "Is my sister one of these 'Sages', too?" She was almost sitting upright, but her arm gave out and landed on her shoulder with a wince.

"Yeah, she's one of us, too," Ruto said, and turned to avoid making eye contact with Impa, knowing that she would explode.

However, Impa surprised her when she merely raised a threatening finger at Ruto and said, "You _told_ – you know what, I'll deal with _this_ later," and turned to Hyre. Ruto and Saria looked at each other, each wondering why Impa hadn't completely flipped out. Even Hyre knew something was amiss from her response, and he got off the chair to address her.

"Madam Impa, do the Gossip Stones have any news of Link's whereabouts?"

"Wait, so my sister is a 'madam' now?" Yrma asked, her confusion continuing to build.

Impa waved an impatient hand and said, "It – he just calls me that, he's like this to everyone, but that's not important." She turned to Hyre and answered, "Neither of the Gossip Stones have news of Link, but if Darunia and Nabooru are on their way to Goron City already, they may be in danger. The Stones are all linked to each other in the same way that the Sheikah are linked to the Stones, and they share information.

"There are four Gossip Stones on Death Mountain, and all of them claim that there's some sort of problem. That's all the two here knew, though; there's some sort of interference. I think we're going to have to walk up by ourselves." Before Yrma could have a chance to ask what was going on again, Impa turned to her and said, "And _you_ don't have to worry about what that means."

"But she's your _sister_!" Saria shouted. "Why are you trying to keep her in the dark about everything?"

"I haven't seen or heard from my sister in over a decade, and until an hour ago, I didn't even know she was still alive. A lot can happen to a person in twelve years, and I don't know if I can trust her with this. The more people who know about us, the harder our jobs become."

"If Death Mountain has been troubled," Hyre said, "then we've got to hurry if we're going to catch up to Mister Darunia and Miss Nabooru." Hyre turned around to Yrma, and with Ruto's help, the two of them managed to lift the tired woman to her feet. "Madam Impa, if you wouldn't mind, please help your sister – I'm going to thank Anju for her generous hospitality. You four should hurry up, I'll catch up shortly." Impa nodded, and put her shoulder under Yrma's arm to support her, and Hyre hurried out of the house.

"I'll get the door," Saria said helpfully, and Ruto and Impa carefully led Yrma outside, into the afternoon shadow cast by Death Mountain. "It's… _tall_," she said, having to tilt her head back as far as possible to see the top.

"Come on, we'd better get going," Impa said, and Ruto kicked the door closed behind them. It was going to be a long walk.

* * *

Ruto heard a faint _pop_ from behind them, and turned her head to see Hyre, surprisingly close behind them, jogging up the trail in pursuit. "That leg of yours might need some rest after today," she called out to him, and the women stopped as Hyre caught up.

"Excuse me?" Hyre asked, giving her a strange look as he regained his breath.

Ruto gave Hyre's shin a tap with her foot and said, "That popping sound; I think your leg's getting worse."

Hyre paused for a moment, before saying, "Right, my leg; yes, yes it does." Ruto gave him a sideways frown and decided to forget it.

"Have you ladies had any problems so far, on the order of something about which the Gossip Stones might be distressed?"

"Your word order is slightly off-putting, but no, we haven't hit anything significant yet," Impa said, trudging forward.

Just ahead of them, however, Saria had stopped in the middle of the path, looking puzzled. She turned around, and put a hand forward, as if pressing against an invisible wall, but her arm met no resistance. "That's… _really_ weird," she muttered, walked forward a bit, and turned to the others behind her. "There's something here, but I'm not really sure what it is."

"What are you talking about, Newt?" Ruto asked, but stopped dead in her tracks from panic when she felt it. It was like a film was being pressed over her, face-first, and was swallowing her as she walked forward. As she stood there, Ruto could feel her skin itching where the force pressed upon her, and shivers ran through her body. She stepped forward, and the feeling passed behind her, but she couldn't shake the idea that whatever it was, it had her now.

"It's some sort of barrier," Hyre said, quietly, as he passed through, too. "I don't think it's harmful, but it could suppress your powers. Until it passes, I suggest we be very careful. We're almost there, though, just a few more minutes and we should be at the city." Just to be sure, Ruto dripped a trail of water behind her, and found to her relief that her gift as the Water Sage hadn't been taken away.

Thankfully, though, Hyre was right. They made another turn, but the ground started to level out, and plants could be seen on the mountainside. Plants that looked rather frighteningly like bombs, that is. There was a cave ahead, and Ruto guessed that's where they were headed. They walked inside and were greeted with a giant, hollowed cavern, with carvings and floors and hallways galore.

"Welcome to Goron City," said Hyre, in the most grandiose tone he could muster. "The first, and greatest, city the Goron race has ever constructed." His voice echoed off the walls and down hallways, giving the impression that they were only seeing a small portion of the city.

"It's _huge_!" Ruto said, and she turned around, gasping in awe at the sheer size of the city, not noticing that little thing which was off.

Hyre smiled, and said, "The Gorons are _fantastic_ craftsmen. They have tools and skills, which other civilizations can only _dream_ of, even if they are fairly primitive when it comes to technology. They are strong, they're creative, they're _incredibly_ skilled," Hyre looked around in slight concern, "and they're—"

"They're gone," said a voice, and Hyre turned to the source of the voice.

"Darunia," Ruto shouted, pleased that the Goron leader was alright. Darunia was standing by one of the hallway openings, with Nabooru standing behind him, looking concerned. "You're alright!" she said, and gave them a warm smile.

"We're fine, yes, but we've got a bigger problem. Hyre, the Gorons, they're all gone – every single one of them has just _vanished_, without a trace. All that's left to check is the safe house, and I was heading there now. I don't know what could do something like this, but it's got me scared."

"I'm there with you," Hyre said, as he looked around the city, which indeed, was empty. "I'm right there with you, big guy." Goron City was deserted.


	16. The Plight of the Prisoners

Volume One: The Rescue of the Saviour

By Gabriel B

Chapter Sixteen: The Plight of the Prisoners

There was a silence between them, steady and absolute, punctuated only by his raspy breath and her muffled tears. Moments turned to minutes as the silence continued, with what felt like increasing vigour. "A-are you ok-okay?" she finally asked, and the sound felt strange to her ears, but that sound, too, was swallowed up by the stone walls. There was no response.

She stretched out her arms, even though she knew she couldn't reach him, and she heard the clanking of chains as the clasp on her wrists halted her movement. She spotted the half-empty bowl of water sitting to her side, and had what she knew to be a terrible idea, but she would try it anyway.

"Hey, Link," Zelda whispered urgently, finally having controlled her breathing, and she saw him clenching his fists. She knew that throwing the bowl would only spill what little water was left in it. Instead, she tried sliding it across the stony floor, but a loose tile knocked it over and, while the bowl sat itself upright again, its contents spilled onto the floor, undrinkable. "_Dammit!_" she said to herself, but Link opened his eyes at her exclamation.

"I told you already, I'm not answering your questions," Link mumbled, as he struggled to push himself upright. Shards of glass mixed with droplets of blood and water fell from his face, and his already-dirtied blond hair now had sickening patches of orange. _What a shame_, Zelda thought to herself, _the Hero of Time, the greatest hope Hyrule had ever known, is trapped in a dungeon, and subjected to torture._ "Where are you, you bast—"

"Calm down, Link," Zelda whispered, "you need to save your energy if you're going to get yourself out of here." She looked down, and saw her plate of meat and bread that she had abandoned during the thrashing, and then back up.

Link winced as he continued to pull broken pieces of the jug out of his face, and said sardonically, "Ow; and how do you propose we do that?"

"Next time Arden comes down here," Zelda whispered frantically, "I'll, uh, distract him… somehow… and when I do, you can hit him in the head and knock him out. You can use the clasp-thing on your hand to make it hurt even more. Then you get his keys and get yourself out of here."

Link looked at her and blinked, and Zelda got the feeling that her plan didn't go over so well with him. "That – that's _never going to work_, you realise, right?" he said, dumbfounded, after a short pause. "Can't you just go back in time to before this happened and stop us getting caught? We wouldn't even have to worry about Arden or this stupid dungeon in the first place." Link yanked on the chain, but the end was firmly fixed in the wall, and he only managed further to hurt his wrists.

Zelda looked down sadly, and said, "I tried that already, but it doesn't seem to be working here – there's some kind of force in this room stopping me. And I don't think that time travel works that way – when I sent you back to stop my father from working with Ganondorf, well, he _banished_ you. And we both know how that turned out in the end, don't we? I don't think we could change any of this anyway, even if I could do something."

Link was sitting down, no more than twenty feet away from her, and he was eyeing the plate of food by her feet with a savagery she hardly realized existed in him. "You must be _starving_," Zelda said, and a faint smile appeared on Link's face. It was only an echo of the warm, friendly smile with which he had first greeted her, all those years ago when they were children, but it was a start.

"What gave it away?" Link asked, and for the briefest moment, Zelda forgot how hopelessly screwed they were.

"Here, I know it's not much, but it's better than letting you not eat." She grabbed the plate, with its half-eaten loaf of bread and cucco meat, and tossed it to him. Neither the meat nor the bread was on-target, but neither did they fall too far away from Link, who quickly picked them up and started wolfing down what he could.

Now that she thought about it, however, Zelda knew that everything was her fault, or at least very not his. It had started two years ago, when her head advisor died of a nasty seizure, and she promoted the next-in-line, the promising young man Ixian, to take the role.

But he had seemed distrustful of the things that she felt were the safest – he insisted that the Temple of Time be sealed off, 'not because of what could escape, but because of what could enter'. Reluctantly, she had a superficial fence built around and above it, giving the illusion of further protection without actually providing it. However, Ixian's paranoia didn't stop there; "Ganondorf surely hadn't acted alone," he had warned. "You need to be very careful from now on." He even provided references for 'trusted' security.

Zelda felt her stomach tighten once again as she blamed herself for not seeing through his deceit. It certainly had been quite a long con, one that, in its fragile state, Hyrule had been all too eager to believe. As she heard the familiar sound of the dreaded dungeon door, she kicked herself again for being caught in this trap. "'Trusted security' my ass," she mumbled.

Zelda's stomach sank as the dreaded voice echoed on the walls, "Alright, girls, _time's up_. Are you going to cooperate nicely now, or am I going to have to start getting my toys? Today makes a whole month since we've started enjoying each others' companies, so the Queen, long let her live, is growing a bit… shall we say…" Arden reached the bottom stair and stuck his angry head in the outer doorway, and finished, with a hideous glee on his face, "_antsy_." His shoulders were hunched even more than usual, and the light stubble he was sporting seemed somehow to amplify his rage. The crowbar he was toying in his hands, instead of his usual spear, certainly didn't help, either.

_This is it_, she thought; _now or never_. Arden spotted Link, having awoken, and no longer bleeding, and Zelda knew that 'never' was not an option. "You – you said w-we had two hours, did-didn't you?" Arden looked away from Link, at whom she gave a quick glance, before she closed her eyes.

Arden smirked at her, and said, "Time just seems to… _lapse_ when you're enjoying yourself, doesn't it?"

Zelda felt her heart pounding furiously, but couldn't let it show. If ever there had been a story she needed to sell, this was it; she didn't need to use her power, she just needed Arden to believe she could. "It's only been thirty-eight minutes," she announced after a moment, and with much more grace than she'd felt cumulatively in the past month.

There was a definite falter in Arden's expression, from which he quickly recovered with his usual sneer. "And how would you know something like that, princess?" he asked, and Zelda could sense a slight wavering as he spoke. He glanced around the room, making sure everything was in order, before his gray eyes returned their glare to her face, and he took a threatening step forward, just out of Link's reach.

Zelda pointedly looked to the side and waved her hand like it was nothing. "Oh, knowing the passage of time is _basic_ for the _Sage_ of Time," she said. "Take a step back and I can give you a demonstration." She heard slight clinking of chains as Link tested just how far he could reach, and waited for Arden to comply.

But instead, his face grew into an even more contorted smirk as the guard leaned towards Zelda, and away from Link. "Oh, you're not fooling _anybody_, little missy," he said in a low growl. "Do you _really_ expect _me_, your _keeper_, not to know of the Twinrova's enchantments? You've no more power in that room than a drowning Deku Scrub." He took another step forward, and Zelda's mind raced, trying to think of a way to force him backwards, to spring the trap they had planned for him.

A movement behind Arden caught her eye, and she shifted herself slightly to get a better view of Link without looking away from the guard. He was holding the plate and pointing with it into the hallway, and after a moment's pause, a tiny smile appeared on the corners of her mouth. "Then how do I know about _him_?" she asked, nodding her head to the right.

For the briefest moment, Arden's smirk vanished as he turned to look to his left, seeing just the stone wall of the dungeon. "I think dehydration is starting to give you hallucinations," he said, wielding the crowbar threateningly, but Zelda remained nonchalant.

"Cut the pretence, Arden," she said, and Arden's arm paused. Zelda stood up slowly, to look at the man at eye-level. Despite his physical strength, Arden's height was less than noteworthy. Then she grew quiet, and Arden had to lean in closer to hear what she was saying. "We both know I'm talking about the man who came down with you, and who's standing in the hallway, listening to our conversation right now. Who is it, your superior, come to hear our confessions firsthand? Or is he your replacement, because in the month we've been down here, all you've managed to get out of either of us is blood?"

Suddenly, Zelda felt all her breath forced out of her body, accompanied by a blunt but forceful jab to her stomach. "_Do __**not**__ speak to me that way_," Arden said, almost growling. The crowbar had been tossed carelessly to the side, in favour of the brute force of his fist. "There is _nobody_ out there!" he added, more for his own self-assurance than for correcting Zelda. After a moment's pause, he continued, seething, "Now, if you're finished with your interruption, let's get talk–"

"Maybe he didn't come with you," Zelda said between gasps of breath, and she stood up defiantly. She spoke loudly now, so that everyone present could hear, and her voice echoed through the chamber. "But he's there now, and he's listening to every word you're saying!" She finished rather louder than she had been trying, but the point got across – the sound of something crashing in the hallway was loud and clear, and Arden froze.

Slowly, he picked up the crowbar and walked back toward the hallway. Zelda could feel her heart racing as he inched closer and closer to Link, who was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. At last, he stood before the door, his weapon raised defensively, and ordered, "Identify yourself!"

"_Now!_," Zelda screamed, and Link delivered a solid kick to the inside of Arden's right knee. Arden yelped in pain, immediately dropping the crowbar, and buckling under his own weight.

"That's for calling me a wolf, you ass!" Link shouted, and raised his shackled wrists above Arden, who stupidly turned around to look. "And _this_ is for being a perverted son of—!" His last words were drowned out by Arden's second scream of pain as Link threw all his weight into the iron shackles on his wrists, and them onto Arden's face. Blood leaked from Arden's nose, mixing with Link's blood, already puddled on the floor.

There was an eerie sound in the room. Link's and Arden's breathing were laboured; that, mixed with the dripping of his blood into a pool, unnerved Zelda almost as much as the fact that Link was standing still. "Take the keys, already!" she whispered urgently, and Link snapped out of his trance. He knelt down, and pushed Arden over, looking for a keychain, and listening for the sound of clinking metal beneath his fingers. Instead, however, he heard a groan.

"Stop it; we'll get you food when we get out of here!" Zelda said, nervously watching Link fumble.

"That – that wasn't me, Princess," he said, and her heart sank. Instinctively, Link jumped back, but it was too late; Arden had already grabbed on the chain, and Link was pulled to the ground by his own jump. Following him was a fist that smashed into his already displaced nose, but Arden wasn't done. In a rage that terrified the already scared princess, Arden grabbed hold of Link's right arm. There was a sickening _crack_, coupled with a yelp from Link, and Zelda saw with horror that Arden had six fingers on – no, _in_ – his own right hand.

"WAIT, STOP!" Zelda screamed, as Arden began choking Link. When that had no effect on the prison guard's unbridled fury, she said, "I'll tell you what you want to know!"

This time, it worked. Arden loosened his grip, and said, "Go on, I'm listening."

"It's called 'The Legacy of Hyrule'," Zelda said, and Arden, still gripping Link's throat, beckoned for her to continue.

Trembling with fear, Zelda closed her eyes as she remembered the age-old legend passed down through the Royal Family almost since the kingdom's foundation, and Zelda knew it well. She began quietly, but quickly fell into the meter of the poem.

"_T'was long ago, from nothings, came the powers from above,_

_The Goddesses, like beacons, bringing Fire, Wind, and Love._

_Then Din, her flaming arms alit, turned chaos into calm;_

_This earth, in all its wonder, thus spun newly in her palm._

_Farore's wind erupted! Countless species were unfurled_

_As Nayru poured her love into the laws that hold the world._"

She paused as Link's breathing became less ragged, and Zelda opened her eyes. Arden had relaxed his grip on Link's neck. He was visibly intrigued by the poem that Zelda was reciting. "Don't stop," he said, and tensed his muscle threateningly against the boy's windpipe.

Zelda nodded, and continued, "_Now satisfied their work was done, the Three left for the skies,_

_But still, a relic left behind became a holy prize,_

_For sitting in their place was the foundation of our tribe:_

_The Triforce, shining brightly! For it, no words will describe._

_But strength corrupts the holiest of folk, with true desires._

_The promise of supremacy turned great men into liars._

_The bonds that held the world united shattered with a throe:_

_The races split apart like lightning, fighting toe to toe._

_And yet, among the factions' hate, there shone a ray of hope:_

_A way to end the devastation on our slip'ry slope._

_For Man and Kokiri and Goron, Zora, did declare_

_That none may claim the Triforce whole; amongst them, they must share._

_And so the Sacred Realm was forged, to end our awful war;_

_The slaughtering of millions did both Man and God abhor._

_But over time, the keys will fade; a lock they may not fit._

_So willing, every race must give a soul to open it._

_Thus only by the unity of all this kingdom's kind_

_Grants access to the legacy that Hyrule leaves behind._"

She finished, and there was quiet for a while. Arden said nothing, Zelda volunteered no more, and Link wasn't even in a fit state to say anything if he wanted. With an angry grunt, he got off Link's stomach, and tromped up the stairs without saying a word. There was a slam, and then there was silence.

* * *

_Knock, knock, pause, knock, knock_, went the door, and the Queen of Hyrule turned around with anticipation, the butterflies in her stomach running wild. She carefully placed the book she was reading on the table next to her, trying not to lose the page. "Come in, Arden," she said, barely concealing her excitement. The door swung open, revealing the squalid man on the other side, sporting a black eye and a limp.

As soon as the guard had fully entered the room, he knelt before the Queen, bowing his head. The short silence that ensued began to wear away at her patience. "You know I only allow the most urgent visits from you. What news have you brought? Or is your injury rather more intensive than your eye?" she asked sharply.

"You have my apologies, Your Majesty. At last, I have… broken the dregs." A small, mischievous grin momentarily passed over his face before he continued, "Zelda has revealed the way inside." His announcement was followed by a brief silence as the Queen's anticipation built, almost to the point of agitation. "She said to bring one person, a representative, of each of the seven races to the Temple of Time."

The Queen gave a quick glance to the book she was reading, "_The Secrets of the Mirror_," but then Arden's words caught up with her. "Did she specifically say _seven_ races?" That couldn't be right – surely even the former Princess knew about the hidden city.

"N–no, Your Majesty," Arden said, looking at his own feet. Her words were, 'The unity of all the kingdom's kind', and I assumed–"

"Do not concern yourself with details, my servant," the Queen said, and Arden fell silent, still refusing to look at the Queen. "Was there anything else that she said, any sort of incantation or prayer needed to open the gateway?"

Arden shook his head, but refused to look the Queen directly in the eye – partially from his injury, and partially because he was afraid. "From what she said, Your Majesty, their presence at the Temple should suffice."

"Very good, Arden, your hard work shall be rewarded in our new world. Is there anything else you have to say, or will that be all?" She resisted the urge to throw Arden forcefully from the room; she had to stay professional in the presence of even the grunts.

"No, Your Majesty, that is all."

"Then that will be all. Dismissed!" she said, and Arden limped out of the room. True, Arden _wouldn't_ know about the Leviathans, but it hardly mattered – she had her own inside man. Together, they already had members from five of the eight races. Only the Kokiri, the Zora, and the Sheikah remained, but her men were prepared to take the first two on command. Only the Sheikah was proving difficult to locate.

"Impa," she muttered furiously, and slammed her fist on her book. "I will have you yet."


	17. The Disappearance of the Gorons

Volume One: The Rescue of the Saviour

By Gabriel B

Chapter Seventeen: The Disappearance of the Gorons

Link awoke to the sound of crying in a nearby room, and rolled over in frustration. It had been such a lovely dream, seeing his father again after all these years, and he didn't appreciate being rudely woken from it. But there were duties to perform, and caring for his brother was one of them.

As he set out to find something with which to pacify his brother, Link's thoughts returned to his dream. The details were beginning to fade, but he still remembered the basic premise. Father was on a mission, and he was coming home today. But the more Link thought about it, the less he could recall; like gravel trickling away through your fingers – you can grab onto one piece, but the rest falls through.

"Calm down, Darbeno," Link said, finding some of the young boy's paste, and carefully spoon-feeding it to him. "Father will be here soon," he said, and hoped.

* * *

Goron City was quite a remarkable sight, even when devoid of all its inhabitants. The grand ceiling, carved out of the stone of the very mountain itself, was smooth, and perfectly spherical. As it sloped down, it formed the walls, too, in such an excellently contoured arc that there was little doubt that both designer and craftsman were perfectly accordant with each other.

In either direction, there were hallways carved into the rock face – or rather, the wall itself – which lead to other rooms. The floor was flat, but it formed a giant circle, which they could see in its whole, with the centre being carved away entirely. Saria looked over the edge, and saw four other such floors, with the bottom one containing an enormous urn with the face of a Goron carved into its side. As she looked up, she saw another two floors, each seamlessly built into the last.

Hyre looked at Darunia expectantly, and Darunia nodded. Whatever had taken them, it was his responsibility to find them. "This way, everyone," he said, and started off to the right, "it's down that hallway over there." Impa and Nabooru lifted Yrma's only barely breathing body and the two of them carefully carried her around the narrow ridge. Saria tore her gaze away from the artwork that, too, was expertly etched into the walls and noticed Ruto hadn't moved from the entrance.

"C'mon, Iketh," she said, but Ruto only twitched slightly at the name. Darunia looked back, and saw that Ruto was staring intently at something on one of the walls right by the exit. She rubbed a damp finger over it, and looked at it, then her finger. The little forehead she had scrunched up slightly in thought.

"This is new," she said, and held up her finger to the others. Indeed, there was a black smudge on her finger. "_Very_ new."

"Is this really the time?" Darunia asked impatiently. Didn't saving the entirety of the Goron population of Hyrule come before a new painting on the walls? But Hyre would have none of it, it seemed, and Darunia grunted in frustration, trudging along behind him.

Nabooru nodded at Impa, and took most of Yrma's weight on her own shoulders. "I've got her," she said, and Impa hurried back to take a look at the smudge. In black ink, rather than an engraving, there was what appeared to be an eye, surrounded by the same four symbols repeating in a circle around the eye.

Impa ran her own fingers over the symbols, getting some of the ink on her hand. "Those letters, those are Old Hylian, aren't they?" she said, examining the symbols surrounding the eye. Despite the apparent smudging, the painting looked untouched. Impa shied away from the markings, and said, "I think Darunia's right – we should get back to looking for the Gorons."

Out of the corner of his eye, Darunia saw Hyre linger at the wall for a moment longer before hurrying to his side.

* * *

Slowly, details of the dream returned to him, as reminders from around him sparked Link's memories. Father was angry about something – no, not angry; it was more like he was worried about something, about _him_.

As Link fed Darbeno the liquidy mush that was his breakfast, his thoughts returned to his memories. "It's been quite awhile since Father was here, you know," he said, more to himself than to his little brother. "Everyone respected him, and everyone listened to him – well, he _was_ our leader, after all. But he was also a brave man, and a soldier in the Great War. You know, our father, Dar—!" Link was cut off by someone screaming from another room. "Get off of me!"

Link dropped the bowl of food, and hurried off after the voice.

* * *

"Let's go, Iketh," Saria said, grabbing Ruto's hand and pulling. Ruto stumbled away from the marks, and fell in line with the rest of them as Darunia led them down several hallways. Ruto kept looking around her, but not at anything particular, and every so often, reached a hand out to feel something in the air. "What are you doing?" Saria asked, but Ruto shook her head. The group walked down several more passageways, each getting progressively hotter and hotter. "Where are you taking us, Dar?" Saria asked, pulling off her outer tunic. "A volcano?"

"Where do you think Goron City _is_, Miss Saria?" Hyre asked, without turning around. Saria and Ruto exchanged worried glances. At last, the party turned one more corner, where they were met by a brutal heat that almost fused their clothes to their skin.

"The safe house is across this gap," Darunia said, gesturing to a large hole in the floor, several yards long, filled almost to the brim with boiling hot lava.

"You mean we have to _cross_ this?" Yrma asked as she painfully clutched her side. She collapsed onto the floor from the sweltering heat.

Impa reached under her sister's arm, and hoisted her up. "Come on, it'll be easy," she said. A shimmering violet light shone from Impa's chest, and soon, the Sheikah sisters had completely disappeared, replaced by a violet orb. Nabooru, Saria, and Ruto followed suit.

Darunia reached out an arm for Hyre, and said, "Grab on," but Hyre shook his head. He reached inside one of the pockets in his cloak, and pulled out a clanking silvery, torpedo-shaped object.

"Creeps me out too much; I've got my own way across, thanks," he said, and carefully aimed at one of the pillars on the other side of the chasm. With a 'clunk', the pointed head of the object hurled forward, and with another, stuck itself onto the head of the pillar. He pressed a button, and was hurled towards the other side amid a mechanical clanking sound. Darunia only shrugged his shoulders, and joined his comrades in flight, as the coloured orbs floated across the pit. Hyre clicked another button, and the magnetic head detached itself from the pillar.

"How did you –?" Saria asked when she realized he was the first to arrive, but Hyre showed her the object in his hand.

"Link's Longshot," he said. "I've been tracking him for a while, and I found a few of his belongings in the process." Hyre looked around, and saw that the tunnel reached its end here. There was only a rock in the middle of a circle; other than that, the only way to go from here was back. "So, Mister Darunia, where is the safe house?"

Darunia pointed at the rock in the centre of the circle. "Under here," he said, and casually pushed the boulder it to the side.

* * *

Link ran up the ramps leading towards the upper floors to find the source of the commotion. One of his friends, Liggs, was lying on the floor with a Hylian soldier standing over him, brandishing a sword. "What's going on?" Link demanded. He hoped his tone didn't convey the fear that was definitely within him.

"Who's in charge of this place?" the soldier demanded, looking around in agitation.

"That would be my father," Link said bravely, "but he's not here at the moment, so I'm in charge."

The soldier scoffed at him. "A _boy_, head of a _city_?" he said, and laughed. "What _is_ the world coming to? Nevertheless, we are here on official matters from the Royal Family, and have no interest in your people; all we want is cooperation. A woman came this way last night. She called herself 'Impa'. Is she still here?"

Link returned the soldier's firm gaze, and said "No, nobody by that name has been here as far as I can recall."

Another male soldier, as well as two females, returned from other rooms. "No sign of her," one of the females, a redhead, said. "She may have gone down the mountain."

"She can't have gotten much farther than that, at least. Are the insignias in place?" the lead soldier asked, and the three others nodded. "Very well, then. Everything's up to the Queen, long let her rule, now. Move out!"

Without saying another word to Link, the four of them turned around and marched outside. Link breathed a sigh of relief as they left. It wasn't until he returned downstairs that it happened – a blinding flash of light, accompanied by an ear-splitting sound that brought the entirety of Goron City to its knees.

* * *

Hyre was the first to leap down into the hole, with a cry of "Geronimo!"

"I'll stay here with my sister," Impa said, and Nabooru nodded. One by one, the other four Sages dropped in the hole, to be caught by light emanating from the platform at the bottom, which slowly lowered them to the ground. Saria gasped as she looked around her, and saw a lush growth of plant life, despite being so near to the heart of a volcano. Above them, the ceiling had holes to allow rainwater and sunlight; right now, she could make out beams of light that were peeking through the clouds outside. She looked behind her, where the lava pit should have been, but all she saw was a rock face.

"The safe house is this way," Darunia said, and hurried off into the trees. It was protocol that, in any attack, the Elders takes shelter in the safe house while the city defends itself. Darunia only hoped that his son, Link, would have followed those instructions, as he raised him to do. Perhaps one of them would have more information on what happened, but that wasn't what Darunia was thinking about. _How could I let this happen_, he angrily asked himself, and knocked down a nearby tree in his frustration.

"Whoa there, big guy," Nabooru said, taking a small step back, and Darunia realized that the rest of them were giving him worried looks.

"Let's keep going," he said after a moment. "We're almost there…"

* * *

"You know, you never really told me who those guys are," Yrma said to her sister. Impa had set up some sort of violet barrier to keep out the heat from the nearby lava pit, but Yrma didn't quite understand how. Twelve long years had passed since the two of them were together, and in that time, Impa had changed completely from the rash girl she'd once known.

"Like Hyre said, they're Sages, like me," she said, and stood up to resume her pacing. "The boy we're looking for, Link, he awakened each of us to our 'heritage' or what have you, and the five of us, Rauru, and Princess Zelda helped him defeat Ganondorf." After that, she fell silent, the only sounds being a slight humming from the shield, a bubbling of lava, and Impa's boots clicking on the rock.

"Quite a diverse group you've got, though," said Yrma, and Impa simply shrugged, and Yrma changed the subject. "So what's the deal with this Hyre guy, anyway?" she asked, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of Impa, recalling her negative reactions to whatever he said.

But Impa shrugged again, and simply said, "He's been lying to us from the get-go, but he's been a bit helpful, I suppose." More pacing. Yrma grew frustrated at her sister. Back in Kakariko, only an hour ago, they'd been smiling, laughing, _happy_ together, but now, she wouldn't even look at her, instead finding a small shadow on one of the walls to be much more interesting.

"Is it something I said?"

"Not now, Yrma," Impa said with a hint of agitation.

"It damn well will be right now, Imp," she said, and shakily brought herself to her feet. Slowly, she stumbled over to her sister.

Impa gasped. "No, really, we've got more important things right now. I've seen this marking before," Impa said urgently. She turned to her sister for the first time since the others departed, and pointed directly at the spot on the wall that had held her attention for the past minute. "Think about it – where else have we seen this?" Yrma gaped at her sister, and then looked at the wall. Sure enough, there was an ink drawing on the wall, but Yrma drew a blank. It _seemed_ familiar, but she wasn't exactly feeling her best at the moment, and déjà vu was everywhere for her.

"Sure, it's identical to the one Ruto saw at the entrance, but that's not what I mean – not that you even saw the other one. But I'm talking years ago, back before everything happened, back at the Castle." Yrma shook her head, her mouth still slightly open. "Oh, come on, didn't you pay attention to _anything_ during your Sheikah lessons? It was Old Hylian history, during the first Great War, centuries ago. Come on, Yrma, _think_!"

Yrma turned back to the image on the wall, and slowly, boring lessons from twenty years ago began to creep back into her memory. She remembered poring over history books about the two – quickly becoming three – Great Civil Wars, about the discovery of the Triforce bringing chaos to the kingdom, with Hylians emerging victorious after a long and terrible struggle. But there was something else, something that helped, something that made the end finally possible. And then everything clicked in place; Yrma remembered the image, one of ten in a circle, exactly as it was depicted here on this wall, and she gasped. "You're _kidding_…"

* * *

Three minutes later, when they finally arrived, it felt like they had been running for hours. In front of them stood a large cobblestone structure, shaped clumsily like a house, but there was no light inside. Darunia pounded his feet on the ground rhythmically for a moment before stopping, and looking at the wooden door expectantly. Nothing happened. Moments passed in silence as they waited, and nothing continued to happen.

Darunia looked at Hyre, and the two of them nodded silently – something was wrong. Hyre slowly drew his sword as Darunia opened the door. Hyre stepped towards the doorway and wielded his weapon threateningly at whatever was inside, and Darunia ignited his fists. "Please let one of them be here," he whispered to himself, and the two of them barged inside, and were met with more silence.

"You go left, I'll head to the right," Hyre said, and Darunia grunted in agreement.

The two of them navigated the structure in a matter of minutes, and returned to the entrance empty-handed. "There's nobody here," Darunia said angrily. "Back in the city, there were doors open, cupboards, but there's nothing like that here. Whatever happened, the Elders didn't even make it down here."

"It's deserted down here, too?" Ruto asked, and her face fell. "I really hope Zora's Domain isn't like this, too – I don't know what I'd do if my father were gone…"

Saria hugged her friend, and said, "I'm sure everything's fine, Iketh." She looked at Darunia, and asked the question that was hot on everyone's mind: "What next?"

* * *

When Link finally managed to open his eyes and pry his hands away from his ears, everything seemed oddly darker. His eyes began to adjust to the lighting, but the walls definitely seemed darker than he'd remembered them. He tried to call for help, but no sound came out – he'd screamed himself hoarse during the explosion of light and sound. He stood himself up, trying not to fall over, and hurried back to his brother.

"It's okay, Darbeno" he mouthed, as tried to calm the young Goron's flailing arms. Like himself, Link noticed that Darbeno wasn't actually screaming – no sound was coming out of his lungs, but he had all the visual indications of wailing, nonetheless. Darbeno gradually calmed down, and Link was able to focus on other things, like a faint buzzing sound he hadn't noticed earlier that was coming from somewhere outside of the room. He placed Darbeno down in his bed and silently promised to be back in a moment.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who had noticed it. Many other Gorons were looking up in confusion at the only thing that was still making any noise – repeated attempts at smashing into things had only resulted in silence, but the hum continued.

He followed the crowd as they wandered towards one of the outer walls of the city. Being only nine, he wasn't the tallest of the bunch, so, with difficulty due to not being able to speak, he managed to push his way to the front of the crowd by one of the hallways. This particular hallway, as Link saw, lead to the outside – or at least, it had. Instead, there was a kind of wall made from black lightning about halfway between the fourth floor and the outside that seemed to block out all light from the sun, despite it being well after dawn.

Something caught his eye to his left, and saw a small ink painting on the wall that wasn't there before. It looked like an eye with some inscription circling it, but he wasn't familiar with the language. Curiously, he put a finger to it and –

"OW!" he mouthed, but again, no sound came out. He shook his hand as the pain subsided. Whatever it was, it wasn't friendly, and probably had something to do with the lightning just ahead. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he turned to the rest of the Gorons. It was time for him to step up as the leader of the Gorons, in fact as well as in title. He took a deep breath, and mimed for someone to get him some paint and a brush.

* * *

"You're _kidding_!" Yrma said, and for a moment, completely forgot about her injuries. "But this is _really_ powerful magic! The _Goddesses_ had to do this – nobody knows how it actually _works_!"

"Clearly someone figured it out," Impa said. "And it makes sense, too – why everyone in the city is gone, but it's localized to _only_ the city – these markings must be a boundary of some sort. The only question now is how we get them _back_."

Yrma frowned. "But I thought it was only one-way; wasn't that the _point_, after all? Wasn't the point that once we imprisoned them, they never came back? Otherwise, I can't imagine why it was in use for so long." Her stomach sank as she realized the implications of what she was saying. If it worked the way it was supposed to, anyone that was inside at the time would be trapped with no way to return.

Her sister seemed to read her mind. She said, "Let's hope whoever did this got it wrong, then," and gave Yrma a slight smile.

"Alright," Yrma said, "let's assume they got the spell wrong somehow and that – I don't know – that these symbols are what are holding them there. Can we maybe paint over them or something?"

"I don't think so," Impa said and shook her head. "The ink's already begun to dry, so the symbol would still physically be there, it would just be covered." She looked at her fingernails, and said, "Let's try _removing_ them…" She scratched a finger at the figure, but seemed unable to affect it in any way, but her thumbnail showed signs of wear. "It doesn't seem like that's working, either."

"Can you try using some of your Sage mojo to blast it away?" suggested Yrma. If nothing else would work, maybe magic would defeat magic.

Impa shrugged. "Might as well give it a try," she said, and a dark violet, pulsating ball of light appeared in her right hand. Except Yrma noticed that it wasn't quite light – it certainly didn't cast any shadows, and didn't give off a glow, but there was no better way to describe it. Impa hurled the un-light at the wall, and the two of them covered their ears and heads as the impact caused rubble to loudly fall from the wall, and debris to spray everywhere.

* * *

One of the other Gorons handed Link a thin brush and a bowl of white paint, then stood back with the others and watched. Link tried to make sure he didn't show how nervous he was, how little he knew what he was doing.

He dipped the tip of the brush in the paint, and then pressed it against the mark on the wall. The wall responded by sending a sharp, painful pulse throughout his body. Link shook violently, and backed against the wall behind him, his scream silenced by whatever was going on around them. But Link wasn't going to give up that easily. If he couldn't touch it, he would have to remove it forcefully.

Link dipped the brush back into the paint, and then looked behind him at the rest of the Gorons and the expectant looks on their faces. He walked over to one of the interior wall faces, and began detailing his plan, as clearly as possible, so that they would all understand what they had to do. They had to fight magic with magic – Goron explosive potions. Quickly, preparations began being made, and the ingredients were gathered…

* * *

"What was that?" Ruto said suddenly, looking around her, and the others looked at her in surprise. "Is there a breeze in here, or something?" She shook Saria off her as she looked around to find whatever had gotten her attention.

"No, there's no breeze here," Darunia said to her, and waved his hand like he was swatting an insect. He had other things to worry about, and shared an enraged look with Hyre – or rather, expected to, but apparently Hyre was preoccupied with the ceiling.

"There's a breeze out there," he said, and pointed to one of the holes in the ceiling that revealed the cloudy afternoon sky above them. "But there are too few of those holes and too far away."

Darunia was confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked, looking at Hyre, then at the ceiling, then back at Hyre. "What does that have to do with _anything_?" He wasn't the only one – Nabooru and Saria both gave him blank looks; neither of them followed, either.

Hyre shrugged, and said, "It's going to rain soon, so there's a bit of a breeze beforehand. Only, that can't be what Miss Ruto described, for those reasons." He bent down and picked up a fistful of dirt from the forest floor, then threw it into the air above him. Despite everything that was going on, Darunia couldn't help but crack a smile when all of it fell back down, squarely on Hyre's face. "New theory: there is no breeze."

Best of all, this seemed to satisfy Ruto, who quit her fidgeting, and allowed Darunia to finally regain his control over the situation. "We should get back to Impa," he declared. "We still don't know what did this; she and her sister might be in danger." Despite the fact that Impa was one of the strongest people he'd ever met, and would have to be severely outnumbered to be taken in a fight, everyone seemed to feel that it was the best option at the moment.

* * *

When Yrma could see and breathe again, she saw a silhouette standing in front of the wall, with rock rubble scattered around them. Amid coughing, she managed to ask, "Did it work?"

Instead of answering, though, Impa bent down and swatted away some of the settling dusts from a few of the larger chunks of rock. "Heh, see for yourself," she said, and tossed a piece back to her younger sister.

As she caught the fragment of rock, Yrma felt a mild tingling in her fingertips, which ran through up to her shoulder. Every muscle in her arm momentarily seized, and she dropped the rock in her panic. Facing her was half a painting of an eye, and the lower parts of the ancient lettering that had surrounded it when it was still on the wall. Yrma could year a faint hissing noise accompanying an almost imperceptible flickering of light from the paint. "I think we – _augh_!" She was interrupted by a much louder humming sound, and much brighter golden glow, coming from right behind her. One by one, the Sages, followed by Hyre, materialised from the light surrounding the hole they'd entered. "Oh, it's just you guys," she said, and relaxed.

"Did you find anything?" Impa asked the others.

Darunia let out a heavy sigh – an impressive sound, if Yrma had ever heard one – and said, "Nothing. The safe house was empty and untouched. Whatever happened to them, _nobody_ had a chance to react. But it gets weirder – it's not just the Gorons that are gone: it's the _things_, too. If it wasn't built into the mountain itself, it's _gone_ – the food, the paint, the beds – they're all gone. I'm almost afraid to find out what happened to my people…"

Their brief victory temporarily forgotten, Yrma felt for the Goron leader. But Impa wasn't looking at Darunia. Instead, her gaze was focused intently on Hyre. "We think we have an idea," she said, and Yrma saw that she was holding, by her fingertips, another piece of rock that presumably came from the wall. Still looking straight at Hyre, she asked, "What do you make of this," and tossed the fragment to him. Hyre threw his hand up to catch it and Yrma could see his body tense up as he felt the same jolt that she had. Yrma could see the sliver of satisfaction on her sister's face when she caught Hyre off-guard, which quickly faded into her usual, down-to-business demeanour. The other four didn't seem to notice.

Hyre glared at Impa for a moment, before looking at the stone in his hand. He said, "From the look of it, it seems to be a piece of the painting that Miss Ruto found on the wall earlier."

"Except _this_ one came from right over here," Impa said, pointing at the rock face behind her.

He looked at the fragment again, and said, "I still don't see the signifi…cance…" His voice trailed and he furled his brow in thought.

"Can I take a look?" Nabooru asked. Without waiting for an answer, she snatched the stone from Hyre's hand and examined it herself. Hyre didn't seem to care. His mouth was opening and closing, as if he had something to say, but couldn't quite figure out what it was. Finally, he spoke.

"But that _can't_ be it."

"It's been over two hundred years. Someone was bound to figure out how it worked _eventually_."

"No, it _can't_ be – it never created an energy field around it like this. And even if it did, it certainly didn't last once the spell was finished."

"That's why Yrma and I think that whoever did this got it wrong somehow – and it means that if we're right, we might be able to bring back the Gorons."

"What in Nayru's Love are you two talking about?" Ruto asked, looking back and forth between Hyre and Impa. "I've understood exactly _none_ of this conversation."

"Calm down, Iketh," Saria whispered. "I don't get it either."

"What do you know about the history of the kingdom?" Hyre asked, but was hushed by Impa.

"Two hundred or so years ago, the Triforce was finally found, and the question of ownership grew into a war – the Second Great Civil War, instigated by a batch of dark mages," she said, and Hyre closed his mouth disappointedly. "The Goddesses finally intervened when the King was assassinated, and presented the people with a silver Mirror, and a spell, which the Wise Men used to cast the dark mages into another world. The mirror had markings on it of an eye, surrounded by some sort of word that nobody understood, and it had ten of these markings, in a circle around the rim. If we're right, a similar spell was used on the Gorons – on the entire city."

"But it didn't work properly," Hyre said, taking advantage of Impa's pause. "The mirror worked on a per-use basis; nothing could get in or out unless the mirror was active, but here, the field is always on. I'm guessing that breeze you felt earlier was actually the field weakening from Impa destroying one of the markings."

* * *

The potion was ready, and had been distributed into a dozen or so small vials for individual uses. Link felt the eyes of the city watching him; he felt more nervous than he could ever remember being at the moment. But there was only one thing to do, so he took a deep breath, and hurled the vial in his hand at the wall.

There was an explosion of light and debris as the glass shattered against the wall, and a rush of rock and air flew at him. Link threw his arms up to protect his eyes, and after the bulk of the debris had passed, willed himself to take a look. Whatever that marking was, it was bad news, and they had to get rid of it. If the potion wasn't strong enough to do that, then he was at a loss for what to do next. His stomach turned to ice.

However, to his immense pleasure and surprise, there was a chunk of wall missing, precisely where the markings had been only moments before, and Link could have sworn he felt the stuffy sensation around him lighten just a bit. And he wasn't the only one who felt it.

Link turned around, and saw that behind him, the rest of the Gorons were similarly excited, though none of them could speak. It took a moment for him to get their attention, but as he did, he gestured for the potions to be passed out. He returned to the paint and the walls, and, on a clean surface, gestured for his fellow Gorons to spread out, find the symbols, and destroy them.

* * *

For the first time since Yrma had seen his face clearly, Darunia looked hopeful. He said, "So if we destroy all of them – I'm guessing there are ten – then that means –"

Hyre said, "We can hope."

"That's good enough for me," shouted Darunia. "Where are the rest of these markings?"

"They should have been arranged in a circle – or close enough to one," Yrma said, struggling to her feet, ready to help. "They had to surround the city, but the effect would be felt from a bit outside the ring."

As if that settled things, Darunia unleashed an impressive roar, a phrase in a guttural tongue Yrma didn't recognize, and leapt into the lava-coated pit. In two great leaps, he crossed the pit, and scaled the far wall. "What are you all waiting for?" he said, with what sounded like fantastic enthusiasm.


End file.
